Chapter 3

Over the next couple weeks, James and Fox moved back to Corneria and ended up moving in with Maverick. The two older canines were also spending every waking hour working on the Arwing prototype. "So, what's the plan today?" Peppy asked, as they walked into the workshop.

"We're hoping to do the first test flight today" Maverick replied.

"Really?" the hare asked, "Which of you are putting your life on the line, in case something goes wrong?"

"That was a very morbid question, Peppy" James replied.

"We already decided that I'd be flying it" Maverick spoke up, "it was my design and I'll be wearing a chute for safety."

"Okay, if you're sure" the hare said, skeptical "I just think it's pretty risky for you to be putting all your hopes on this."

"Why? You helped build it" James said, "you should be the most confident one here."

"I'm just worried that something bad will happen while Maverick is flying" Peppy stated.

"It'll be okay, Peppy" Maverick stated, confidently "if anything goes wrong, I'll just eject myself from the ship."

"And if the ejector doesn't work?" Peppy asked.

"I'll get him out" James smiled.

"Without knowing if something happened?" Peppy questioned.

"We can't fix the problems without testing the Arwing in the first place" Maverick pointed out.

"We won't be fixing anything just standing here" James said, "let's bring it outside and get this test going."

The three mammals dragged the Arwing prototype out of the workshop and James asked, "Where's Pigma? He was part of the construction of this ship. He should be here."

"He's off world on some mission" Peppy replied, "Pepper didn't say what the mission was."

"Must be some kind of personal mission" Maverick stated, "I hope he's alright."

"I'm sure he's safer than you're about to be" Peppy replied.

"Go get yourself ready, Mav, and I'll get the Arwing set for flying" James said, ignoring the hare.

Maverick came back a few minutes dressed in the flight suit they had designed and a parachute strapped to his back. Before Maverick climbed into the ship, James grabbed the wolf's arm saying, "Mav, wait."

"What's wrong, James?" the wolf asked.

"I know Peppy was way too intense about this, but please do be careful up there" the fox stated, blushing.

The wolf smiled, gently grabbing the fox's chin and lifted it up to himself. He kissed the fox and said, "I love how protective you get. I promise I'll be careful."

He climbed into the ship and started flipping the switches to turn on the engine. It sputtered for a minute, making both Maverick and James cringe, but then it roared to life. "That could've been more smooth" James stated, leaning over to Peppy.

"You still not worried about the ship having any problems?" he asked.

"It was the first time it turned on" James smiled, sheepishly "of course it'll struggle turning on."

Maverick waved out the window giving us a thumbs up. The Arwing slowly started hovering, as the landing gear retracted back into the ship. Then it started flying forward at a slow speed and steadily picked up speed. Maverick flew it in a big circle and landed it, jumping out of the prototype. "So, how'd it fly?" James asked, as the wolf approached them with wide eyes.

"That was awesome!" Maverick exclaimed, "A little shaky at times, but it started to fly pretty smoothly."

"Oh, Mav, that's awesome!" James said, rushing into the wolf's arms.

"Any other critiques?" Peppy asked, trying to keep on track.

"Oh, yeah, uh it seemed to have a real tough time getting up to speed and then maintaining that speed" Maverick explained, still hugging the fox.

"Really?" the hare asked, "That was the only problem you had?"

"I mean that's all I noticed" Maverick stated, "it's not like I tried doing any tricks with the ship. All I really wanted to do was see if it could start up and get off the ground, which it did. The little lap was for me."

"What speed did it max out at?" James asked.

"It barely got to 45 space kilometers per hour" Maverick stated.

"That's not too bad" Peppy said.

"No, it wasn't bad, but I had designed them to be able to go at speed equivalent to at least Mach 1" Maverick stated.

"Oh, that is so much faster than what you maxed out at" James stated, "good thing this was just our first flight test."

"Exactly" Maverick agreed, "now is the time to fix any bugs, rather than one pop up during a mission."

"Alright, I can work with that" Peppy stated, "any exterior changes you'd like made? Like adding your 'Star Pups' logo, or even just the color scheme, since all grey is pretty boring."

Maverick looked at James saying, "How about a nice teal for our logo behind the cockpit?"

"That sounds good to me" James smiled, "and maybe the G-diffusers can be purple."

"You want yours to be purple?" Maverick asked.

"Yeah, what do you want them to be?" James questioned.

"Green" Maverick blushed, "green like your eyes."

"That's why I said purple" James chuckled.

"Wait, you want another Arwing designed?" Peppy asked.

"Well, yeah" the two canines replied.

"Did you think we'd be forming a team with just one ship?" Maverick questioned.

"I guess I thought you'd still use the Berserk on some missions" Peppy admitted.

"I think we'll probably retire the Berserk" James stated, "maybe we'll use it for vacation travel."

"But doesn't that ship hold a lot of good memories?" Peppy questioned.

"Good and bad" Maverick shrugged, "but since Corvus could still track it, I don't think it would be a great idea to keep it around."

"Couldn't you just have the tracker removed from the ship?" Peppy asked.

"That wouldn't help" James insisted, "Corvus could still find it. He knows his ship too well. Destroying it might be the best move."

"So that's why we'll need two Arwings" Maverick stated.

"Where are you planning to keep these ships?" the hare asked.

"We're working on plans for that" James smiled, winking at his wolf friend.

"Alright, well I can get to work on those after lunch" Peppy stated, "when do you want me to start adding the weapons to the Arwings?"

The two canines looked at each other and, without even speaking, nodded their heads. "Once we get the speed problems fixed, we can start worrying about the weapons" Maverick explained.

"Agreed" James spoke up, "getting the flight mechanics working properly is a higher priority than the weapons."

"Got it" the hare stated, walking away "I'm gunna go eat some lunch. You two can go make out or something."

The canines' jaws dropped hearing the hare make that kind of smartass comment. "What's that supposed to mean?" Maverick asked.

"Don't think I didn't see that kiss between the two of you, before you got in the Arwing" Peppy stated, "I guess it didn't take you that long to move on from Lana, did it Maverick?"

James saw Maverick's face get red and could tell he was at a boiling point. He grabbed the wolf's arm, pushing himself in front of the wolf. "Peppy, that was really uncalled for" James stated, as Maverick ran away crying.

"Did he really run away to cry?" Peppy asked, judgmentally.

"What the fuck is your problem?" James asked, glaring at the hare.

"Nothing" Peppy replied, "I'm not the one kissing my best friend only weeks after my wife died."

"He's not moving on from her!" James exclaimed, "He loved that she-wolf and watched her get killed. I'm the only one who has been able to comfort him."

"Oh, I'm sure you've comforted him many times since Christmas" he said, giving the fox a knowing look.

Without hesitation, James punched Peppy in the face and left the hare to deal with his bloody nose by himself. "Mav, where are you?" James called out, looking for his friend.

After looking for a few minutes, James concentrated and could sense where the wolf was hiding. He ran to the location and found the wolf crying on the ground. "Congrats, you found me" Maverick stated, looking up at the fox.

"Oh, Mav" James said, slowly dropping to his knees and reaching out his paw to the wolf.

"James, leave me alone" Maverick said, slapping away the fox's paw.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere" James replied, calmly lowering his paw "you were there for me when Vixy died, unexpectedly. It's my turn to return the favor."

"I'm not moving on from Lana" Maverick stated.

"I never said you were, Mav" James said, "we haven't even slept together since you took my virginity."

"So, you're not just doing this to get in my pants?" the wolf asked, skeptical.

"It's my job, as your best friend, to make sure you're alright" James replied, "I love you, Mav, but I would never expect you to move on from Lana. Especially not only a few weeks after she died. It's only been almost six months since Vixy died and I'm still working through it."

"Should we go deal with Peppy?" Maverick asked, holding out one of his paws.

James took hold of the paw and the two rose up to their feet. "No need to" James said, "I already punched him in the face."

"You didn't!" Maverick exclaimed, laughing.

"Oh, yes I did!" James grinned, "No one talks to my best friend like that."

"You're the best, James" Maverick said, suddenly kissing the fox's maw "don't tell Peppy I kissed you again."

"My lips are sealed" James smiled, still clasping Maverick's paw in his own.