While the fleet had done much destruction and for so long had been an object of terror for the officers of the ZGA, as soon as their weakness was found and a force of Knights was entered into the fray there was only so much they could do for so long a time, no matter what they did they were certain to face defeat, defeat that could only be worsened by continuing their defense. With this fact quickly realized, the leader of that great enemy force ordered his craft to rise and leave the positions they had once fought so hard to keep and to return to whatever dark corner they had once risen from.

Following this force as it journeyed past the ZGA, a number of the Knights kept their weapons bared and ready to strike if the enemy dared try anything besides retreat. Of this number, five were excluded, those five having turned to attack the two targets the planet had to offer.

Joining those five; the only one who did not have the benefit of absolute trust and an unbreakable bond of friendship with the ranks, not that he wished for that to last. Having decided that the life of a Knight was one he wanted back, Nick felt that none of the usual challenges could threaten his new path. But before the journey down the path could truly begin he would have to follow the unspoken orders of the five, orders that called him to the surface bellow.

000

Fortunately for him, the journey to the planet's surface was one short and of little action, within minutes of having turned to fall he and his craft had found themselves buried beneath the canopy of the planet's forests.

While the dark shadows surrounding his craft seemed empty he knew that three others were not far away, three that while still unseen were sure to have their weapons armed and ready to fire at his craft.

With the thought of the three unseen, Nick kept his descent slow and steady, all the while keeping his ship from doing even the slightest turn. Without him having turned, it was near a wonder that all three legs of Endeavour found a branch to rest on, a feat that only seconds separated from his swift exit of his craft, his paws held high.

For a few seconds there was nothing, only the sound of the third mammal moving to land somewhere else. Suddenly, the faint hum of the two's shields of light pierced the gloom.

Had he been in combat, that hum would have been the audible warning of an unbreakable barrier ready to make any attempts at attack futile efforts. But as it was now, the hum was but a follow up to the light and served only to make the twos' position known. But while their main aim was to let him know where they stood, the light also served to make their weapons and faces a visible sight. Those weapons, a rifle of size massive for the Knights in the paws of a Buck with stripes, and a small, pistol sized blaster joined with a Vixen of white were the sight that greeted him, the sight that told him they were two who were not to be messed with.

As soon as they were sure the Fox knew where they were, the blue light of their shields faded away and their sight was again aided by vision natural or artificial. With his own sight now adjusted to the dark Nick could see the Vixen march forward to pat him down.

With her task complete, she returned to the side of the Buck and again brought her weapon to bear.

Once again there was silence between them, silence the Buck was the first to break, "You know why we're here?"

"Um, 'cause you want to say hi?"

While the Buck's eyes were hidden beneath a mask of cameras, the slow shake of his head told enough for their narrowed glare to be known, "No, we're short a member and as of now, you're the only candidate."

"Um, does that mean..."

"It means,", any friendliness that the Buck's voice had held was now all but lost, "that we're willing to let you go in with a pistol, provided you stay close and wear a tracking tag. That said, we only have to do it if you want, if you don't our friend over there will be more than willing to keep you in timeout and we'll be more than willing to move on without your help."

"Well...", for a good few seconds Nick let his mouth ramble in thought, "provided that Judy doesn't jump out of nowhere, I'd take that offer."

At the Fox's answer the twos' faces became contorted with frustration,soon after the Vixen produced a small band of black from a pocket in her belt.

Soon after accepting the band, Nick wrapped it around his wrist, a quick tap of the button preceding a small flash of red. With the tracker safely on, the two lowered their weapons to let him retrieve his own. As soon as he was ready the three set out to the small village they knew hidden nearby, their craft soon becoming hidden by the branches behind.

OK, that's chapter 4, sorry it's kinda short, I've been having writer's block and just about every attempt to write this ended up being deleted. That said, I hope you enjoyed reading this, feel free (and in fact encouraged) to give me hate if you didn't. Please, please, please tell me if there's something you're seeing that I can do better and please provide what you think would be a good fix.

As usual, please share any ideas you have on where the story may go, any characters you'd like to see later on, any weapons you'd think would be awesome, any ship designs you might have, any planets you'd love to see the team exploring, and any art whatsoever, if it's something you want to see then I will do whatever I can to include it.