StarFox: Fugitive

Chapter 2 – Dogfight

Later that afternoon, inside the campus's gymnasium, grunts and pants from half of the fifty students filling the giant room echoed against the glass ceiling. While some of the students were taking the class simply because it was part of the required curriculum, others seemed to revel in the strenuous levels of physicality their bodies were capable of. Vicky was one of them. Outside learning how to pilot a jet to the best of her ability, this last class of the day was her favorite. Especially considering the harsh confrontation that took place earlier that morning, if there was anything that could make her feel better, it was a good old-fashioned workout.

As usual, they were starting the class with warm-ups such as push-ups and sit-ups. With her hands behind her head, Vicky gritted her teeth together and pulled the upper half of her body up while her partner Kitty held her feet down. With the help of her friend's coaching, she forced herself to do the required twenty-five sit-ups.

"Wait," Kitty said at one point, "was that twenty-four or twenty-five?"

When she laid back down, Vicky's eyes flashed open to look at her in disbelief. "You lost count?"

"What?" Kitty shrugged her shoulders, "You know I'm not the best at math."

Vicky let out a big breath, rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever. Let's just call it quits for now."

"Fine by me," Kitty agreed. While Vicky continued to lay down and stare up at the blue, cloudy sky through the roof, Kitty decided to make herself comfortable and lay herself on her stomach next to her friend. All the while, Vicky couldn't help but wonder what had occurred between her friend and her parents after she left. Part of her thought she shouldn't pry. But on the other hand, they had been friends since they first started school. It couldn't hurt too much.

"How'd the meeting with your mom and dad go?" she asked, biting her lip in nervousness.

Kitty showed her a smirk. "Oh you should have seen my mom," she replied, "She was livid!" Then, in a dramatic reenactment of what happened, she said, "Kitty and Max Shorthair! If either of you do anything like this again you're going to get the punishment of a lifetime!"

Vicky couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Though it was obvious she was exaggerating, it was no secret to Vicky that Kitty's mom was the disciplinarian in their family. Still, even though she did get a laugh out of her, Vicky soon let out a sad sigh at the fresh guilt she was feeling. And like the good friend she was, it didn't take long for Kitty to figure it out that something was wrong.

"Hey, talk to me," she said, "What's up? Did things go bad with your mom and dad?"

Vicky frowned as fresh tears threatened to spring up in her eyes. She didn't want to bring up such a heavy topic so soon. "Something like that," she replied, hoping the answer would suffice. When Kitty didn't say anymore, Vicky decided to go ahead with the real issue. "Look, I'm so sorry Kitty," she said with another sigh, "I mean, someone could've gotten hurt. And then our parents had to come to the campus to see us like we were still in elementary school." The words held so much weight that Vicky soon groaned and put her hand over her eyes. She only lifted it when she heard Kitty speak up.

"Hey, we're friends," she said, "Aren't we supposed to go through life's problems together?"

Vicky turned her head to her friend and raised her eyebrows as she gave her a confused look.

"Well," Kitty went on to explain, "I mean, yeah I'm not happy that this got added to my record, and that we went through that freaky asteroid field, and got busted by Cornerian military. But hey, you know it's like my dad always says. When life knocks you down, you gotta get right back up."

Nice advice, Vicky decided. She only wished her own dad had been as patient. No, she thought as she slightly shook her head. She had to put this morning's episode in the back of her mind. As she did, or at least attempted to do so, she tried to smile and said, "Thanks a lot Kitty."

"Hey, that's what friends are for," Kitty replied as she returned the smile. Vicky then watched as it slowly grew more mischievous, until Kitty turned her head, which stopped as soon as her eyes rested on her brother, sitting a few feet away from them holding down the feet of his partner as he continued his sit-ups.

"Speaking of friends," Kitty said, changing the subject, "What do you think of Max?"

"What do you mean, 'What do I think of him?'" Vicky asked in confusion.

Kitty was about to answer when Max suddenly turned his head in their direction. As soon as he saw that they were looking at him though, he instantly looked back away, and it seemed only Kitty noticed the faint but still present blush appear on his gray cheeks, which seemed to feed confirmation to her theory.

Turning her head back to Vicky with wide, excited eyes, she said with a fitting voice, "See?!"

Now even more entrenched in confusion at what Kitty could mean, Vicky asked, "See what?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kitty asked, "It's been obvious to me for years. He likes you!"

Now it was Vicky's eyes that were wide, but, in this case, in disbelief. "What? You're crazy!"

"How?" Kitty asked, "Because you're a fox and he's a cat? What, you got this prejudice I never knew about?"

"No, of course not!" Vicky replied, "It's just that, I never thought of Max as anything more than friend."

"Well, I think he'd like to see you as a bit more than that," Kitty suggested, "In fact, I'd be willing to bet he's been thinking that for a long time."

"Well, if he does happen to think that he'll obviously tell me," Vicky said, almost as if blowing her friend's notion aside due either to it's absurdity, or its discomfort.

"Hey," Kitty shrugged her shoulders, "guys aren't always obvious about everything."

Vicky was about to reply, when both girls suddenly heard a grunt both of them would recognize anywhere. The two turned their heads to its source, which turned out to be Max's partner. A dog named Bobby Spaniel, and a real problem for Vicky, Kitty, Amber, and Max throughout the years. Ever since kindergarten, Bobby seemed to think it was his lot in life to make fun of and bully them all around. Why he decided this, and why he followed them to the academy, none of them could ever guess, especially considering he wasn't very smart. Still, they all managed to tolerate him, most of the time.

They both groaned when he apparently decided to get to his feet and walk their way, no doubt thinking of something belittling to say to them. Vicky and Kitty inevitably exchanged the look of annoyed dread, agreeing, if unconsciously, on one thing. This guy was obvious about everything.

"Well, lookie what we have here," Bobby said as soon as he stood in front of them, his tall canine frame somewhat intimidating even if his words weren't, "Miss Vicky Mc 'Rain' Cloud. So you decided to show up after all."

Both Vicky and Kitty let out a sigh, not only at his uncreative insult, but at wondering why he was here anyway. Deciding to challenge him nonetheless, Vicky replied, "Nice one Bobby, but, what exactly do you want?"

"Just wanted to know if it was true," Bobby replied as he smugly crossed his arms, "Heard your mom and dad had to come down here 'cause you got busted by the military. Came by to express my combo… conjo…"

Deciding to help him out, Kitty offered the word he was probably thinking of. "Condolences?"

"Yeah," Bobby nodded, "What she said. Guess the coolness factor doesn't run in the family."

That comment hit its mark as Vicky's mouth fell open. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one who noticed. As soon as Bobby talked, a small chorus of "ooh"s from the surrounding students reached them. Once she heard Bobby's words though, Vicky knew she wasn't going to allow this dog to get away with what he said. And apparently, Kitty shared her thoughts.

"Oh knock it off, Bobby," she said with an irritated voice while waving him off with her hand.

Vicky's eyebrows raised as soon as she thought of a comeback. Turning her head to Bobby, she added, "Yeah. Why don't you go choke on a bone?"

The moment she said so, the chorus of "ooh"s was slightly louder this time. And Vicky's slight smile faded the moment she saw Bobby's go too. In fact, her eyebrows raised and her heartbeat slightly quickened when she saw him clench his fists as his face went red. Now she knew she had to watch what she said.

"Alright snarky," he said as he then began popping his knuckles, "You wanna play dirty?" Before he could walk over to her though, Max grabbed him by the arm.

"Leave her alone!" he exclaimed, his green eyes flaring at him with anger.

"Yeah, cut it out, Bobby!" Amber added from her spot a few feet away. But suddenly, Max flinched as Bobby shoved him hard on the shoulder, making the girls gasp.

"Keep your boyfriend and personal cheerleader outta this!" he said before turning his eyes, showing a stronger anger, back on Vicky, "Two can play at this game."

As he then walked over to Vicky, ready to teach her a lesson, Vicky began clenching her own fists tighter with each step he took. Soon he was right in front of her, and she was ready to defend herself, until suddenly, right as he was about to touch her, everyone flinched when they heard a loud whistle pierce the air. All the students, including Vicky and Bobby, turned to see their coach, Ron Hawk, a green bird who showed a considerable amount of muscle underneath all those feathers.

"Alright guys and gals!" he called out, "Hope you're all warmed up 'cause class is starting…" He stopped when his eyes landed on Bobby, who was reaching his hand out to grab Vicky's shirt. "Sorry," he said, his suspicious gaze planted on them, "Was I interrupting something?"

Bobby, his eyes now wide, immediately showed a nervous smile as he stepped back away from Vicky. "Oh no," he shook his head, "'Course not Coach."

"Good," Coach said, his eyes slightly narrowing, "because its time to gather 'round the mat." Turning his attention to the rest of his students, he cleared his throat, raised his voice, and called out like he was a drill sergeant, "Let's move, move, move!" Everyone immediately obeyed him, getting up from their places and choosing a spot to sit while Coach waited patiently, until all of them were sitting around the square blue mat, wondering what they were going to go over today.

Coach walked out to the middle of the mat, his voice loud and clear. "As you all know," he said, "I've been teaching you all hand-to-hand combat while blindfolded, to sharpen your senses." All of the students nodded in understanding, and Coach continued. "And while most of you could definitely use some work, some of you have developed your skills very well. I daresay, better than I expected. So, for starters, I think it would only be fair to have two of the best show us how it's done."

"I'll do it!" a confident voice called out. Everyone turned to see that it was Bobby with his hand raised, and didn't question why. Despite his simple mind, he knew how to fight, and fight well. No one said a thing as he stood up and walked to join Coach in the middle of the mat. Once there, Coach gave him a friendly slap on the back.

"Thank you Bobby," Coach smiled. He then looked up to face the rest of his students and asked, "Who'll be our second volunteer?" Once the question came out, heads one by one began shaking to say no. There were even comments of "No way," "Not me," "He's a beast," and "He's too tough," making Bobby feel an inner need to clobber whoever said so. But despite most of the class's unwillingness, Coach wasn't about to back out of this proposed demonstration.

"Okay then, I guess I'll have to pick one myself," he said. But just when he was about to call someone's name, another voice called out, "Wait! I volunteer!"

Once again, everyone's eyes flew to the person the voice came from, and some even gasped when they saw who it was. It was Vicky, her arm raised in the same manner as Bobby's was. While the students continued to stare at her in disbelief though, none of them knew that even Vicky wasn't entirely sure why she did what she did. All she knew was that it seemed like a good idea at the time, since she herself was a pretty good fighter and she didn't want anyone else to have to face him. But as the inevitable conflict loomed ahead of her, she also knew that it was too late to turn back now. Fortunately though, she wasn't the only one who was nervous.

"Vicky, are you really gonna do this?" Kitty asked, "I mean, if you wanna get, you know, sick now, we'll all understand."

Suddenly, when actually faced head-on with the idea of backing out, Vicky physically flinched and her determination to go ahead with her initial decision skyrocketed. "No way Kitty," she shook her head, "Someone's gotta show that guy to mind his mouth."

"Well, whatever you want, we're right behind you," Amber said, "Besides, you're one of the best fighters in the academy."

"Thanks a lot Amber," Vicky nodded. But when she looked back at Bobby's face, which seemed to smile smugly and frown menacingly at her at the same time, she swallowed some of her confidence and hoped no one heard it. "So is he," she reminded them.

Before long though, the stage was set. Vicky and Bobby stood on either side of the mat, their backs turned to each other, and both of them wearing a blindfold. For now, it seemed to everyone to be a fair match, since Vicky and Bobby, as a fox and a dog respectfully, had similar senses. But no one dared speak out loud for fear of throwing either off their game. And unknown to both demonstrators, the opinion of who should win was unanimous. And that person was Vicky.

Suddenly, Coach blew his whistle, signaling the beginning of the demonstration, and a hush of silence fell over all of the students, their eyes locked on the mock match in front of them. Both Vicky and Bobby began slowly walking backward, both of them planning to take a different approach than the other. While Bobby was planning to use raw sense and brawn to overpower his opponent, Vicky hoped to simply outsmart him, and maybe even employ her fabled sixth-sense. It didn't seem far-fetched that she should be able to have one, especially considering that her own mother was a telepath. And now, she was especially hoping it to be true.

After taking nearly a dozen steps, her heartbeat quickening in nervous anticipation with every single one, Vicky's eyebrows suddenly raised when she sensed a footstep close to her on the mat. She then decided, whether or not she was right, that it was time to act. She spun a hundred-eighty degrees, shot her hands forward, and smiled for a split second when she realized she grabbed a wrist. She then spun back around a hundred-eighty degrees, and pulled on the wrist, pulling a strong masculine body over herself and slamming him down hard on the mat. And Vicky knew that with that one move, the real match had begun.

After hearing a faint but prominent growl, she planted her feet into the mat, and jumped the moment she sensed Bobby's leg swipe down in an attempt to knock her down. She ducked to her left when Bobby through a punch to his left, grabbed his arm and wrist when he tried again on his right, and shoved him hard on the back, sending him down like before. Knowing he would try to kick her down again, she leaped forward and performed a somersault before landing upright.

Vicky then turned around as soon as she heard Bobby scramble to his feet, and ducked twice when he threw two punches her way. He tried again, but she grabbed his right arm and wrapped her left arm firmly around it, before grabbing his left arm and doing the same with her right. But she knew he wouldn't stop there. Before he could kick her, she kicked him first in his right leg and then in his left. Then to make sure he couldn't hit her at all, she kicked him in the gut, sending him across the mat.

She couldn't hit him too hard though, even though part of her wanted to. It was basically the number one rule in the gym: If the fight gets real, so does the punishment. But of course, this fight wasn't over. Feeling the pressure of his feet approaching her, and fast, Vicky once again firmly planted her feet in the ground before cartwheeling to the right. But if she had felt any sense of confidence during this demonstration, it seemed to have gotten too high. Before she could grab hold of Bobby, he grabbed hold of her, pulling her down onto the mat and pulling on her arm with his strong hands while pressing onto her shoulder with his feet.

Vicky grit her teeth, but no cry escaped her lips. She rolled to the left in order to get back on her feet, but Bobby clearly had her pinned down. Once she was on her stomach, he sat on her waist and pulled on her arms, crossing them in a painful shape. Vicky grit her teeth harder, to the point where she feared they would fall out. For a moment, there seemed to be no way out, when she suddenly heard Kitty actually cheer her on. "You got this Vicky!" she shouted, "You gotta fight him!"

"Yeah, bratty," Bobby suddenly said, "You gonna fight? Or are you a washout just like your old man?"

Just like that, those few words hit Vicky in her own gut harder than any punch Bobby could throw at her. It provided the fuel for the faint candle that had been lit within her, causing it to be fanned instantly into a wildfire of fury. It didn't matter if she and her dad had a somewhat unpleasant reunion just that morning, no one spoke so disparagingly about the father she still loved. Still pinned down, as her fury quickly gave way to rage, on an act of impulse she decided that if there was one thing this dog wasn't going to get away with, it was that last remark.

As though it gave her the ounce of strength she needed, Vicky quickly pulled her arms out of his grasp and turned on her back. Even though she was blindfolded, she could clearly see his face in her mind. His words still ringing fresh in her ears, her right hand clenched into a fist, and she threw it his way as hard as she could.

As soon as she hit her mark, Bobby instantly let out a shocked cry of pain, which was immediately followed by a few groans. Some surprised gasps even erupted from the crowd of students. Now that he was off her, wanting to know what happened, Vicky quickly pulled off her blindfold, and raised her eyebrows to see Bobby writhing on the mat, holding the place where she apparently hit him. Vicky had never actually punched someone for real before, and now that she was seeing the results, she didn't know what to think.

But Coach certainly did. He blew his whistle and called out, "Alright, demonstration's over." He then hurried over to Bobby along with Max and another young male dog named Dan, and pulled off Bobby's blindfold before he urged him to sit up so he could look at his possible injury.

"What'd she do to me?" Bobby managed to ask. Coach held his face to his level and frowned at what he saw.

"Looks like you got hit in the nose, Bobby," he replied. Bobby then moved his hands back to his nose, but when he saw the blood that suddenly appeared on his fingertips, his eyes flashed over at Vicky. And she couldn't help but flinch at the sheer fury she now saw in them.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Bobby shouted. Before he could move even a centimeter toward her though, Max and Dan instantly jumped up and grabbed him. While they held him back as hard as they could, Kitty and Amber quickly hurried over to either side of Vicky and then rushed her away, which, to her surprise, she gladly welcomed.

"Okay, that's enough," Coach said, quickly putting a stop to another fight before it could begin. Looking down at Bobby, he said, more to the class than to Max and Dan, "Someone get this kid to the nurse." He then looked up to address the rest of the class to tell them this message was for them, and said, "No one moves until I come back to this spot." Everyone nodded in agreement, and he nodded back before he walked over to where Kitty and Amber had taken Vicky.

She sat against the wall on one of the benches, being tended to by her friends. Amber wiped off the sweat that was forming on her silver fur, while Kitty was offering her water, which she gladly took. It was the best water she ever had, thanks to both its taste, and its ability to get her mind off of what just happened. Unfortunately, it came back full force as soon as she saw Coach headed her way. She quickly handed the water back to Kitty and gently waved at Amber, both of whom reluctantly stepped aside so she could talk one-on-one with Coach.

He didn't cross his arms as everyone knew he did when he was angry, so she was hopeful he might go easy on her, but any sense of hope quickly fled when she saw the stern look on his face, which painfully reminded her of her dad. "Okay, I wanna know," he said in a voice that matched, "What happened out there?"

Not wanting to give a long speech, but not really wanting to reveal what caused her to hit Bobby, Vicky said the first thing that came to her mind. "He made fun of me," she replied, slightly shrugging her shoulders. For a moment, she hung her head, until she forced herself to look back at Coach and ask, "I'm in trouble aren't I?"

Coach frowned sadly. "'Fraid so," he replied with a sigh, "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to suspend you from class for three days."

"What?!" Vicky suddenly exclaimed. Despite her demeanor before, she couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Why? He started it!"

"I'm gonna talk to Bobby too," Coach replied, "But that doesn't give you the right to hit him. I could suspend you for a whole week."

Vicky opened her mouth, but before any words could escape, she hung her head again, longer this time, because she knew he was right. Her heart slowly began to feel heavier and heavier, and she bit her lip to keep it from getting even more so, before she looked back up again at Coach and said, "I know. I'm, I'm sorry."

"Me too," Coach replied in a more sympathetic voice, "I can tell you're having a rough day today."

For a brief second, Vicky smiled a faint smile before it disappeared back into a frown. You have no idea, she thought as she then heard him turn and walk away. As soon as he left their presence, Vicky looked up again as soon as she felt the hands of Kitty and Amber on either side of her. Their touches gave her only a little comfort.

"We really are sorry Vicky," Amber said, her eyes for which she was named sad despite her attempted smile.

And despite her own attempts, Vicky's heart became three times as heavy. "I'm the one who should be sorry for all the trouble I caused you all," she said before putting her head in her hands. Suddenly though, she felt what she recognized as Amber's touch envelop her in a hug, which she couldn't help but allow.

"Like she said Vicky," Kitty then said, "we're here for you." Vicky slowly looked up at her, not able to tell, in spite of their close friendship, whether her smile was genuine or fake. "Like I said, we need to watch each other's backs," she added. Vicky said nothing. She only nodded her thanks, and then looked back away again, where she could only stare at the floor until she was eventually lost in her own world of self-pity, that, she admitted, she had considerable help creating.

Things didn't get much better as the day went by, not after class ended – along with the school day for that matter – and especially not after Kitty and Vicky got back to the dorm they shared. Vicky thought she'd better be able to escape the dark cloud that seemed to hang mercilessly over her once she got back, but once she realized it wasn't going anywhere, it only seemed to strengthen its hold on her. She didn't even hear what Kitty asked her until she heard her name. "Huh?"

"I said I was going to get some dinner from the cafe," Kitty explained as she started changing clothes, "You wanna come with me?"

Not in the mood to go out in public anymore for today, Vicky solemnly shook her head and replied, "No thanks."

Knowing she wasn't going to look at her, Kitty only frowned and turned away. Once she was in a new set of clothes, she said, "Look, Vicky, I know things look tough but, they'll turn around, eventually." After a long pause, she then added in a voice similar to her friend's, "I promise." And then, without another word, she left.

Kitty returned twenty minutes later carrying food, hoping this would at least put some semblance of a smile on her friend's face, she invited her over to the small table near the window. Vicky walked over, took a seat, and even widened her eyebrows when she saw that Kitty had gotten her her favorite: a meat and cheese sandwich, while Kitty got for herself a salad. Vicky was somewhat touched by her friend's effort, considering her appetite had been previously lost, yet she still couldn't crack a smile. For what felt like the longest time, the two didn't talk as they munched down on their dinners, occasionally looking at each other, but no one speaking a word.

Even after they finished eating and two two eventually went to bed, all Vicky found herself able to do in her dark, blackened room was to stare up at the empty ceiling, empty as she was now feeling. Time almost seemed to fade out of existence, just as much as she wished to sink into the mattress and let it consume her. Occasionally, she turned to the left, then to the right, and back to the middle again, but later – or sooner, since she'd stopped keeping track of time long ago – it became clear to her that she wasn't going to get any sleep. So she did what she tended to do when she couldn't sleep. She decided she'd go for a walk.

After Vicky changed into appropriate clothes, she quietly walked out of the dorm, and began to make her way just as silently down the hall of rooms. She felt like a walking, solitary shadow with so much darkness surrounding her, but she didn't stop, nor did she look back. She only hoped that her friends were at least getting some sleep. They did have her back, but they couldn't help her carry the massive weight that had now fallen on her shoulders.

She later made it to the outside and noted how very few lights were on, showing at least some of the stars the night sky could afford to offer. Vicky had been out here at night before, and every time it felt like being in a smaller version of Cornerian City, where the stars she loved to gaze at ever since she was little could almost never be seen unless you got far away enough. She always liked looking at them because it reminded her that no matter how dark and bad things seemed, there was always that glimmering ray of hope that they would get better. Tonight though, that notion seemed as hard to believe as ever.

Her footsteps, which at first seemed aimless, eventually carried her, as if by instinct, to a warehouse a few dozen yards behind her dorm. When she eventually looked up to see which one it was, her face only fell when she saw that it was the one that housed her and Kitty's jets, which had been rented to them for the entire time they were at the academy. Well, if her feet had carried her here, there didn't seem to be any point in trying to talk herself out of leaving.

With swift fingers, Vicky pinned in the password which would unlock the door to allow her in. Suddenly though, she jumped back when she heard a long beep and then saw the words: Access Denied. She immediately punched the air below her in frustration as she suddenly remembered. Not only was it past curfew, but she was also facing suspension from being allowed to fly her jet. She let out a heavy sigh and was turning away, when an idea suddenly flashed into her mind. Could it still be there? It had to be. Vicky turned around again and, after making sure no one was watching her, she slipped away into the shadows on the side of the building.

She continued to the far corner, sudden anticipation filling her slowly, until it finally culminated when she spotted a familiar looking board. She placed her hands on it and pulled, and discovered that it was loose, just like she'd found it originally. Yes! she thought as she cracked the slightest smile she managed all night. After she and her friends faced their first punishment by the academy, she discovered this loose board which opened up a narrow, but still passable, opening, allowing her access inside the warehouse. And like she did the first time, she slipped through it and closed the board, not wishing it to be seen by anyone else.

Vicky then turned around, and now that her eyes were used to the darkness, she could see the jet that she couldn't seem to stay away from. Her eyes fixed on it, and feeling almost like she was in a sacred place, she walked over and placed her hand on it. The metal was cold. But for some reason, whenever she did that, whenever she actually hopped in and started flying it, it seemed to become a part of her, like two different colors merging together to form a new one, one that was better than the two before it. Inevitably, that led to her next idea. Quickly but quietly, she climbed up, opened the glass, and sat down comfortably in the pilot's seat.

But as soon as she did, the knowledge that she shouldn't have been where she was, which she had been trying so hard to push to the back of her mind, unexpectedly came forward at full force. The sudden heaviness of the atmosphere soon caused Vicky to place her head in one of her hands. Who was she kidding? Why did she even enter the academy? What did it matter that she came from a long line of pilot prodigies? While her grandfather James founded the StarFox team and left this life in sacrificial glory, while her father cemented his own legacy by forming a new team and defeating the great Andross twice, all she had managed to do was jeopardize her chances of ever becoming like one of them.

She wasn't like them and she never would be. So, why did she feel this great connection to a jet whenever she was around one? Why did she still feel the need to stay? Vicky sighed as she attempted to find answers to these questions, yet failed. Wanting to focus her mind on something else, anything else at all, her eyes fell on the currently unused radar screen in front of her. A thought came to her mind, wondering what the Cornerian defense fleet was doing right now. Her thought moving to her hands, she turned the radar on, and it immediately lit up, showing, to her surprise, what appeared to be a gathering fleet of green ships – obviously Cornerian – prepared to fight against a squadron of red ships.

Her curiosity now somewhat fueled, Vicky indulged another thought that formed in her head by putting on the headphones kept at the side. She didn't hear much, but her large ears quickly caught what was being said.

"What do you think?" a gruff, male voice, one that she quickly recognized, asked, "Can you two make it?"

After a moment of silence that seemed to stretch the moment it happened, Vicky suddenly heard another male voice she instantly knew. "Of course General, if Corneria needs us, and if it is what we think it is, we'll be on our way." It was her father! Vicky immediately put the headphones away. What was he doing talking to the general?! She knew he and her mom had been helping them out some lately, but part of her really wanted to know what it was they were going up against.

Suddenly, she stopped herself. She knew this pattern of thoughts, the kind that had previously gotten her in trouble, and she wanted to flee from it. Bury it. Keep it from influencing her. But the harder she tried, the harder it beat itself over her head. What if her parents, or someone else important, got hurt in this conflict, despite their experience? Who knew how dangerous these potential foes could be? It was no use, she could no longer fight against it. She had to do something to help.

But she couldn't do it alone. Despite what she knew they would say, she still had no one else to go to but her friends. In the same manner with which she entered the jet, she quickly exited it, and then exited the building. And to nobody's knowledge except her own, a shadow covered in silver and white fur quickly made her way across the grounds back to her dorm, with only one thought on her mind. If she couldn't prove to herself and everyone else that she was a worthy pilot, it would be better if she gave up her ambitions, her dreams, altogether.

Reviews would be appreciated.

P.S.: I got nothing against Spaniels! Trust me!