Brothers
A Wulfe Litefoot Adventure
by Cyberwulfe

"I was happy to be living near my home planet again, inconspicuous to everyone who lived there. But this new fight was a difficult one, and changed my life forever!"

-Wulfe Litefoot

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"Having Wulfe around was like having a long lost brother. He was, in many ways, like me, but also different. May the glory of God go with you, my brother."

-Cyberwulfe

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They think I'm dead. So I decided to be dead. After barely escaping the assault on Venom I limped home to lick my wounds. I salvaged several materials in order to make a livable atmosphere on the decimated starbase Canorb 4, where I had lived as a pup. After my planet fell under the power of the evil Emperor Andross the bases were attacked and destroyed, with my parents still on board #4.

I now live with their spirits, inside a steel cocoon with virtually no contact with the outside world. I rebuilt most of the living space of my once spacious apartment and replaced the shattered windows with new glass. The lights, furniture, and other appliances were brought to my new home from other parts of the station, where the explosive decompressions hadn't sucked them into space.

It is lonely, of course, but I have been a loner for the past six years of my life. After leaving the Royal Canis Navy Academy I became a mercenary and have lived so thus far. Now I need to make a serious decision: live here until I die, or continue my preferred employment.

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The large, but fast, fighter streaked through the beautiful Canine night sky. The modified V-45 Wolf Wing was indeed a marvel of technology, nearly unsurpassed by any other fighter of its class. The designated Heavy Assault Fighter, with its large weapons payload, could easily outmaneuver most lighter intercept fighters, and its Interceptor role allowed it the speed and firepower to bring down the most dangerous opponent.

Now this one was used for the good of others. The pilot inside had witnessed as well as undergone terrifying crimes against the body. He had been abducted, locked up, and then enhanced with cybernetic implants. With his left arm missing, he now had to live with a robotic replacement. His prosthetic right hand gripped the flight stick as he carefully maneuvered above the forest.

After landing the fighter in a secluded clearing he walked the next four-hundred feet to an old cabin. He ducked through the doorway and looked around the room. Everything was the way he had left it. His name was Cyberwulfe, and he had built the cabin himself after his rank was stripped from him, his family was killed, and he went totally mad. He found refuge in the hills of Canis, reflecting on the good things in his past life, but everything led to the same thing: his mate Jheena and their two pups.

After many years in the cabin he had returned to help fight a war that he could have easily sat by and watched; but the pilot in him had screamed to be let out. The so called "Cyber Wars" had him and the rest of the RCN pitted against Dr. Prieve, an insane scientist who thought that if all Canines were cyborgs that it would expand their lives another two-hundred years. Of course the government declined his request for funds so Prieve would have to start on his own.

After several `tests' he achieved over fifty new cyber-soldiers with which to fight on special missions. His army soon exceeded five-hundred and new recruits were pouring in, as were volunteers for his `guarantee of everlasting life'. The Navy was charged with attacking Prieve at every turn; wherever his installations were discovered. On one attack, Cyberwulfe was rammed by an enemy fighter and taken prisoner. Within hours he was on the operating table and ready for his implants.

The final stage of his conversion was to brainwash him to enjoy pain, and to take pleasure in the deaths of other beings. But his strong will to live, as well as thoughts of his beloved Jheena, allowed him to remain mentally stable. At his first opportunity he escaped, killing Prieve and taking out the base in the process. Now he lived on his own, occasionally throwing in with the local authorities to help in any type of search. His latest alliance was with the Rebels, who were fighting against the Galactic Empire. He had spent the past six months in one of their fighter squadrons and had made a powerful impact. Now he had returned home once more.

Wulfe woke up at the sound of a ship flying dangerously close to Canorb 4. He glanced out the window and recognized the shape of a light freighter that had flown back and forth for the past eight weeks. He yawned and decided to stay awake. He went to the kitchen and cracked a few eggs into a frying pan. As they sizzled, Wulfe looked down on his home world. He wished that he could leave and stay there, but he couldn't risk being seen... by anyone.

He smelled something nasty. The eggs! He turned to see small flames coming out of the pan. He rushed to extinguish them but it was too late. They were now just a black mass that stuck to the pan, even as Wulfe threw it against the wall in frustration. He crashed in his chair and put his face in his hands. He needed to get out. He had been cooped up so long that he had forgotten how to be social, not that he was very talkative to start with.

He finally made up his mind to visit Canis. He had a quick shower (which he hated because wolf fur always smells when wet) and then tied back his long black hair with his favorite blue scrunchie. After packing a few things he put on his zero-G suit and made his way to the hanger. His Arwing, the Lupine, was still hiding behind the large piece of wreckage that kept any ships from peeking inside and seeing a new Mk-1 Ferret Class Arwing. Wulfe sighed. This was his dream ship. He had modified it within days of his last mission, before everyone thought he had died while rescuing Peppy Hare from a high security prison on the planet Venom.

As Wulfe eased the ship out of the hanger, he glanced around to make sure there weren't any bystanders to discover his secret location. After seeing that the skies were clear he hit full throttle and gunned it for Canis. He kept regretting his trip, but soon got over it by the time he was hailed by planet security. Ever since they were attacked by the Empire, and then Andross, the planet's security perimeter had been upgraded. There was now a fleet of ships surrounding the planet, mostly quick and versatile V-40 Foxx's and fast Beowulfe Light Corvettes. Nevertheless, after using a fake identity and transmit codes that he had discovered in his father's log books he was cleared to land.

Wulfe arrived at the very same town that he had lived in for a few years when his father had a job on the planet itself. After paying to dock his ship for the next week, Wulfe rented a car and drove down the seemingly familiar streets. After jogging his memory for the address of his old house, he rounded a corner and there it was. It had been painted blue since he last lived there. The garden had been replaced with a wooden deck and it was now occupied by a family of squirrels.

Wulfe passed by and drove by his old friends house. His mouth dropped open and he hit the brakes. There was Nikki, playing ball with his son. Wulfe hadn't seen Nikki in almost ten years, and now here he was with a family. He wanted so much to walk up and say `Hi! Remember me?' but he didn't. He sadly drove away, leaving the squirrels to wonder why he had stopped so abruptly in the empty street.

Cyberwulfe stood on his front porch watching the sun set. When you're a cyborg who doesn't need to eat, drink or sleep, just sitting there watching the sun set is like watching a movie preview quickie. The late afternoon had been spent monitoring the multiple frequencies used by several military bases over the planet. Cyber basically had the communications equipment to run a war and win a political election right from the comfort of his own home.

His attention was usually directed mostly to Canine frequencies. With his ship, the Soul Hunter, he would be able to make it anywhere on the planet in a matter of hours. It was now that he received a message from a base located just barely over two-hundred kilometers away. The message was breaking up, and full of static. Cyber listened intently, setting the monitor to record the entire message. What he recorded made his eyes widen. Once he lost contact he jumped into his ship and raced towards the base.

A small line of smoke rose from the gray debris. Fire had erupted all over the base, and most of the buildings had either collapsed or been blown away. Cyber landed the Soul Hunter and approached the smoldering remains. What he saw made him glad that he didn't have a stomach, or it would have been emptied. There were several dead Canines lying in front of him. They had been burned badly and their skin bubbled. The attack had only lasted a few minutes, yet the entire base had been raided and destroyed. Cyber pounded his fist on a large bulkhead that once server as a support for the main communications center.

Wulfe smiled. He saw something that he'd not seen in a long time: the inside of a gun store. He didn't really need a new one, but enjoyed looking. He'd used almost every type of gun ever made, except special military issue blasters and some highly illegal melee weapons. His personal blaster, a GX-49 heavy blaster pistol, had two barrels located directly vertical of each other. The first one shot out a normal bullet, but directly following it was a powerful laser beam. The gun was now modified so that Wulfe could fire either bullets or lasers.

As he was turning to leave he spotted something shiny on the wall. It was a beautiful sword. The type those ninja guys use in the movies, thought Wulfe. He wanted it.

"How much for the sword?" he asked the dog behind the counter. He preferred being served by someone of his own species, and this dog was.

"Oh, very expensive," replied the clerk, a Japanese Chin," She'll cost you plenty!"

Wulfe tossed a roll of bills on the table," That should cover it."

The greedy clerk flipped through the bills and smiled," So, who do you work for? The BearFoor Clan?"

"I work for myself," replied Wulfe. The clerk took the sword off the wall and handed it to Wulfe. It was a marvel of craftsmanship with a howling wolf carved into its hilt.

"Ah, a Ronin?"

"Ronin?" asked Wulfe.

"Yes. A warrior without a master. Often a loner with little or no allies."

"Well... I've had three masters, and a few friends. Ronin, eh? Hmmm?"

"I warn you this: the sword is said to be as mystical as it is beautiful."

Wulfe slung the sword over his shoulder, securing the strap across his chest," I'll be careful."

Wulfe grinned. A mystical sword Chee!

Wulfe was glad to be drinking his favorite drink: Canine gtyou. He didn't care that he would pass out after the second glass. He loved the stuff. The sound of a fighter flying overhead drew his attention for a few seconds, then he turned back to his drink. After a few more satisfying sips, the loud conversations in the room stopped. Wulfe checked his armpits and then looked in the direction that everyone else was looking. There in the doorway stood a very tall Canine, with brown fur, a yellow tinted targeting sight over his right eye, and a gun at his left side. With whirring sounds emanating from his legs he strode across the room and sat at the bar right next to Wulfe. He appeared to be, as best as Wulfe could decipher from his robotic face, very disturbed or upset. After sizing up the cyborg Wulfe decided not to intrude on the newcomer's bad mood.

The the cyborg turned and stared at Wulfe for several seconds. Wulfe sensed his eyes on him and turned in his seat," Yeah?"

The cyborg leaned closer, his crosshairs flashing yellow and blue," You must be him. But I thought you were dead?" he said in a quiet, metallic voice.

"Who do you think I am?" asked Wulfe, trying not to give himself away.

"I know you," the corsshairs flashed green and then remained at a dull red colour," You're Wulfe Litefoot. Mercenary for hire. Any job for 20 000."

"You're crazy. He's dead," replied Wulfe. He turned back to his drink.

The cyborg turned back to the large mirror on the wall behind the bar and kept his gaze fixed on Wulfe's reflection. The barely audible whirring sounds coming from his head made Wulfe a bit irritable.

"I hope you don't mind, but your hard drive is disturbing my drinking," said Wulfe.

The cyborg turned towards him once more," So?"

Wulfe glared back at him, his lip twitched slightly," Do you know how long it's been since I've had a good glass of gtyou?"

"Do you know how long it's been since I've even had a drink?" asked the cyborg.

"I can't even start to guess," said Wulfe.

"Well don't overexert yourself."

That was it. Wulfe got off his stool and pushed the cyborg away from the bar," Don't insult me, robot!"

The cyborg barely moved more than a few inches. He was more machine than Canine and was able to put his foot back with lightning reflexes. Then before Wulfe could react, the cyborg knocked him across the room. Wulfe crashed against the wall and slumped onto a table. The cyborg followed, grabbed him by the neck, and held him three feet off the floor.

Wulfe, finding himself in a bit of a pickle, used his last resort when in a fight: he kicked the cyborg between his legs. The cyborg looked down towards the point of impact, then back at Wulfe," Nice try, but I had a little... ectemy when I was changed."

Wulfe glanced around the room. The other customers had grouped together at the opposite side of the room," So what now?" smiled Wulfe.

"I need your help," replied the cyborg.

"Well you sure have a funny way of asking for it."

"Hey, you started it," said the cyborg, lowering Wulfe to the floor.

Wulfe massaged his throat and looked up at the tall cyborg. Wulfe, at six-foot four, was dwarfed by the immense wolf-borg who stood before him. Wulfe edged his way along the wall, passed the borg, and sat back at the bar. The cyborg returned to his seat as well," So, will you help me?"

"That depends on what you need help with. You seem to be able to take care of yourself pretty well."

"It's not me that needs protecting; it's Canis."

Wulfe sat up straight and looked up at the cyborg," You'd better not be kidding me, cyborg. Nothing hurts my planet without seeing me first!"

"They've already struck three times, all at military outposts around the planet. Each were totally destroyed within minutes."

"Something or someone that can take out bases that quickly? Must be something strange going on?"

"Come with me. I'll tell you everything."

The rather large fighter emerged from hyperspace and drifted to a stop. It was a custom built Arwing from the nearby Lylat system. The pilot, a young red fox named Star, pulled her sunglasses off and checked her computer read-out.

"Yep, this is it. Canis," she said to herself.

She pointed her ship towards the green-blue planet and gave her registration numbers to planetary security. Once she was cleared she flew through the atmosphere and landed at a spaceport that had been recommended by the friendly tourist Canine that had hailed her once she passed security. The fighter's landing gear touched the pavement gently as the jets powered down.

Star, after shutting off the various computer monitors in her cockpit, climbed down the access rungs and glanced up into the blue Canis sky. She whistled and put her glasses back on. She was glad to be away from her base, as well as the hectic struggle in the Lylat system. She had promised herself a vacation, but had never had the time. She finally dropped everything she was doing and made a beeline for Canis.

She had heard about Canis from several Canines she had met in the Lylat system. The lush, blue-green world had once been the peace center of the Lupus System. Then the Canines developed small jets, that eventually evolved into larger and more powerful fighters. The most recent, and last fighter produced in the past twenty years due to its success, was the V-45 Wolf Wing. It was fast, despite its massive array of weapons. It had been equipped with a special supershield technology that had been picked up from the Galactic Empire after their attempts to produce such a shield failed.

It was the Galactic Empire that had nearly ended the peaceful life of the Canines. After a terrific space battle the Canines had suffered severe losses, but they were still alive. Their next challenge was the Cyber Wars; where a mad scientist had tried to turn the entire population of Canis into cyborgs. It had lasted four years and resulted in the conversion of hundreds of Canines. Canis was almost destroyed by Andross when he attacked the now weakened world. With its forces nearly depleted, Canis could not defend against the onslaught of the Venomian fleets. Luckily Andross was defeated many years ago and his armies were forced to flee from Canis.

Now the planet was a vacation hot-spot. With its beautiful forests and rivers many people had spent weeks away from their normal lives and returned home relaxed and revived. And that's what Star wanted: revival. After flying around, fighting evil in the Lylat system she was ready for a little R & R.

She walked among the rest of the ships in the spaceport. There were several other fighters, as well as many larger ships such as cruisers and freighters. A small shuttle was just lifting off as she entered the main building. Just as she was exiting the building she was jostled by two tall Canine wolves who were apparently in a rush.

"Hey! How 'bout some room here?" shouted Star.

"Sorry," replied the taller one, his tinted eyeglass flashed in the light.

She just turned and walked into the busy streets of the rebuilt city, New Tundra.

"We should have been more careful. I was afraid we were going to knock her over," said Wulfe.

"She'll be alright," replied Cyber, who had introduced himself in the bar.

They were on their way to their ships. Wulfe had agreed to go to Cyber's cabin and see what the trouble was about. He had doubts that this was for real; someone can't just destroy a heavily defended Canis military base and disappear.

Wulfe followed the quick V-45 in the Lupine. Her speed was almost as great as the larger Canis fighter, but the engine system had acted funny since his defeat over Venom. After forty minutes they landed in a secluded clearing. Wulfe embraced the smell of fresh, mountain air as his cockpit slid open. He'd never been in this part of Canis, and he let his senses take over; taking in every detail.

Cyber led him down a simple dirt path that had patches of tangled tree roots here and there. Finally they reached a medium sized cabin. Wulfe was amazed. He had never seen one up close before. It was a marvel of craftsmanship. The logs were perfectly lined up, the windows firm in their panes, and even the little chimney was perfectly vertical. While he was looking at the cabin, Cyber had already opened the door and called for Wulfe to enter.

Wulfe was amazed at what he saw. Three out of the four walls in the main room were covered with communications equipment, computer terminals, and other technical instruments. A seismograph, with its five needles marking lines on the paper as it rolled by, hummed in the corner closest to the door. Wulfe watched as one of the needles began to quiver, causing large streaks to travel into the paths of the other lines.

"Hmmm. An earthquake in the northeastern hemisphere. Looks like a 3.4. I hope they'll be okay," said Cyber.

"Boy, you sure have on heck of a setup here," said Wulfe, still trying to take in the entire room.

"This is just my planetary monitoring system. Wait until you see the next room," said Cyber, motioning for Wulfe to follow him.

The next room was indeed superior to the adjacent one. A large console with a sixty-inch monitor sat in the middle of the room. On either side were computers, radar displays, holographic projectors, as well as several other weird instruments. Cyber took his seat in a large padded chair in front of the monitor and flicked a few switches.

"What is this place?" asked Wulfe.

"This is my galactic monitoring system. I have cloaked probes as far as Clax D'orr IV and as close as my front door. Nothing short of a tiny bit of space debris gets past this system. From here I could send a crystal clear transmission to Corneria, Titania, Coronux... you name it. I could detect an invasion force from over thirty light years away, giving our forces ample time to prepare."

"I guess you really do care about Canis' safety," said Wulfe.

Cyber rotated his chair towards Wulfe," You thought I was kidding? Hah! I'd die for my planet. I live... er, exist to keep anything from happening to Canis that happened all those years ago."

"You mean Andross?"

"Andross, the Empire, as well as villains like Dr. Prieve!"

"Dr. Prieve?"

"Never mind, I just want to warn our forces of this new threat before another attack occurs."

"Wouldn't the other bases know?"

"The attackers were jamming the transmissions. Only my high powered comm sats were able to receive it... but barely."

"What kind of message?"

Cyber reached to another machine and flicked three switches. Then he leaned back and stared blankly at the monitor. The distorted image of a badger appeared. There was a large control room of some sort behind him and Wulfe could make out several Canines frozen in mid-step as they ran for their lives. Wulfe flicked another switch and the message played, fuzzy and full of static:

This is Talon Base to anyone who is receiving!. *SPAAK* Please! We are under attack! *SCREEEE* There was no warning at all! *BEEP, BEEP, BEEP* Total devastation! They broke through our shields! They broke through our shields!

The message ended with a loud explosion and the wall of the room collapsed, filling the picture with smoke and fire.

"Now do you understand?" asked Cyber.

Wulfe whistled," I think we've got some planning to do."

Star lay down on the soft bed in the large suite she had rented. The soft mattress seemed to wrap around her tired body as she lay across it. The bathroom seemed to call to her. She slipped out of her dirty flight suit and filled the tub with warm, soapy water. After soaking herself until her skin wrinkled, Star got dressed and called room service.

As she greedily tore into the wonderfully prepared meal in front of her; she read the local newspaper that she had asked for as well. The town had just completed the reconstruction of their stadium, and ball games would resume next season. A bank had been robbed, but the thieves had been captured by the robotic wolf known as Cyberwulfe. Star gasped. That was the guy at the spaceport, she said to herself, doing a double-take at the photo on the front page.

Star felt the need to get out. Being cooped inside a fighter for days, even weeks at a time often caused claustrophobia. Star viewed a magazine to find out the best outdoor tour available, and money was no option. She still had plenty of cash left over from her previous jobs as a mercenary.

The canoe trip down the River Rufus, followed by a three day hike through the woods, and finishing with an airlift back to town seemed very interesting. She would be out in the woods, with a bunch of other people, and wouldn't be sitting on her kiester the whole time. She circled the ad and called the phone number to book her reservation. She returned to the soft bed and lay down for a quick nap. In three days she'd be enjoying the great outdoors of Canis.

Wulfe and Cyber were sitting on the front deck of the cabin enjoying the cool evening air. Cyber, content with watching Wulfe drink some hot chocolate, looked up into the sky and sighed.

"You seem preoccupied, partner," said Wulfe," What's on your circuit boards... er, mind?"

Cyber glanced in Wulfe's direction and then back at the sky," I lost my life because of flying. Looking up at the sky always reminds me of flying, of the war in space and on the surface, and of what happened to me."

"What did happen to you. You haven't really told me much about yourself."

Cyber got up and ducked into the cabin. He returned a few minutes later with a large book that Wulfe thought to be at least four inches thick.

"What's this?" asked Wulfe, taking the book from Cyber.

"My photo album. From when I was a kid, to my family, to my most recent adventures. My whole life is in there."

As Wulfe flipped through the book, he saw a new side to the dark cyborg in his midst. He wasn't just some big, robotic tough guy who watches over the Lupus System, but a flesh and blood wolf, like himself.

He stopped when he came to the pictures of Cyber and his mate. Other pictures on the next few pages portrayed Cyber's two pups. Cyber apparently had a career in the Royal Canis Navy, flying a V-40 Foxx. There were several pictures of him with many other Canines, and almost all of them were taken either on a runway or in front of fighter jets.

"How did your career in the Navy go?" asked Wulfe, eager to see what he had missed. Rather than pursuing a ccareer in the navy himself, Wulfe had left to avenge his parents' deaths. That led to his current occupation.

"I it was kind of fun at first. My whole life I wanted to fly in fighters for the RCN, but when my wish came true I had nothing much left in my life. As newer fighters were developed, my team and I were used as test dummies. I was almost killed several times, but I always managed to bring the fighters home in one piece."

"Who's the beauty with you?"

Cyber turned away, his face wrinkled with grief," That... is Jheena. She designed the Foxx, which is where I met her. We had a family and led a fairly happy life... until..." Cyber trailed off.

"'Till what?" asked Wulfe.

"You must have taken history right?"

Wulfe nodded.

"When the Galactic Empire attacked I was in the lead ranks, escorting our bombers to attack the Empire's Star Destroyers. A foolish maneuver I tried to pull resulted in the deaths of some of my squadron members, but it also allowed some bombers to destroy a cruiser."

"Sounds like you should have gotten a medal," replied Wulfe.

"Court marshal more like it! I was almost shot down, but was saved by a flight of V-45's. After that I returned to my home, only to find it destroyed. My family was dead, killed by the Empire's ground forces. I nearly went wild with grief. I flew here and built this cabin and have lived here since."

"So, when did you get your... makeover?" asked Wulfe.

Cyber shifted in his seat. He held up his robotic left arm and rotated it, allowing it to whir in the night air," A few years afterwards, I witnessed a dogfight just a few miles from here. I listened in on the transmissions and got curious as to who they were talking about; mentioning `We can't let them win', and `We'll get them next time'. I finally made the long journey into town and rejoined the Navy. I fought in the Cyber Wars until I was captured and operated on. But I survived their brainwashing and managed to escape, but not before killing the evil doctor responsible for my current situation."

Wulfe nodded and took another sip of his cocoa," My God, Cyber. I'd hate to have something like that happen to me. Your life seems as full of strife and disappointment as mine"

"Please don't say `My God', Wulfe. I don't like it, and God doesn't like it," said Cyber, as he glared at Wulfe," And I may have lost a lot of things in my life, but God will always be with me."

"Oh... you're one of those Jesus freaks, huh? Well... I'm cool with that. Just don't try to take me to church or anything, okay?"

"Fair deal."

Wulfe nodded again and drained his mug, then the two of them went inside for a long sleep; except for Cyber who didn't need to sleep.

Star woke up and rubbed her eyes. She had finally slept for a full eight hours: and then some. It was nearly 11:40 am. Star swung her legs over the side of the bed and yawned and stretched. She called room service and ordered a very generous breakfast (even though it was nearly lunch time) and waited eagerly for the bacon and eggs.

As she waited she looked at the brochure for the trip she was taking. It seemed even more exciting the second time, now that she was one day closer to the most relaxing time she could imagine in her whole life. Fighting evil rarely allowed time for vacations, and she wanted to enjoy this one. Lylat could look after itself for the next few weeks.

There was a knock at the door. Star opened it, tipped the bellhop, and sat down to eat. It was very good. She stuffed it down her throat, then regretted it later. With small cramps eating their way through her guts, she sat down in one of the comfy chairs and watched the holo-viewer. There was a sitcom on, which Star watched for ten minutes then flipped to the next channel. It was a talk show. A bunch of people were angry and began to fight with each other on screen. Star, bored with daytime television, decided to explore the town.

She walked down the main street and looked in the various shops that lined the busy sidewalks. There was a very nice looking art store, and she browsed it a few minutes before buying a small print of a nice painting of the Lylat System. She liked the detail that the artist had added to the planet Titania; her home and base of operations.

She thanked the cashier and continued down the street with her picture hanging in a small paper bag. Another store that caught her eye was a deli. The smell of fresh meat laid between two buns with cheese and mayo made her wish that it was lunch time already. She promised herself to return.

Wulfe woke up as the sun came through a window, right into his face. He rolled off the bed and stood up. After stretching and yawning he met Cyber in the kitchen.

"I don't eat, but I thought maybe you'd like some breakfast?" said Cyber.

"Mmmm, sounds good," replied Wulfe. He sat at the table and licked his lips as a plate of sausages was placed before him.

Cyber sat across from him and watched eagerly as Wulfe ate the sausages. He missed being able to savour food, but if he did eat it would sit inside him until it was removed somehow, which wouldn't make the experience of eating again worth it.

Wulfe finished in about ten minutes, with no words between the two Canines. Then Cyber spoke up," How about some fishing this afternoon?"

"Sure, sounds good," replied Wulfe, swallowing the last chunk of meat.

"We still have a few things to do this morning, but we should be done by lunch time."

"Good. I haven't fished in years."

Star returned to her room to find a piece of paper that had been slid under the door. She read it:

You had a phone call while you were gone. Please call Canine Wilderness Trips at 2-667-587-3994.

Star picked up the phone and called the familiar number from the magazine article.

"Hello. Canis Wilderness Trips," came the cheery voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello this is Sta... um, Gene Roberts calling. You called me this morning?" said Star.

"Let me see... oh yes. We called to tell you that the trip has filled up and moved ahead to this afternoon. I hope it's not too soon or cause any inconveniences?"

"Nope, that's fine. What time to you leave?"

The dock at Canine Wilderness Trips was covered with about thirty people of different species. Star worked her way through the crowd to the end of the dock. She stood there, enjoying the cool breeze and the gentle movement of the River Rufus. After a few more minutes the trip's coordinator arrived, and after a brief overview of the trip they were on their way.
Star was put in a canoe with three others. She was in the center of the canoe, without a paddle. She grumbled to herself. The whole reason for coming was to get some action and get off her butt. But here she was sitting on the bottom of this stupid, wet canoe. The trip started rather slow, while that part of the river was slow and peaceful. Then the fun started. Several rocks protruded from the water and required a bit of tricky maneuvering. Her canoe brushed passed them and continued on its way.
"Is this it?" Star asked sarcastically, to no one in particular.
"It gets more interesting up ahead," said the guide in the boat.

Star sighed and rested her chin on her hand. This was the big trip that she was going to use to get away from it all? A slight jolt made her bite her lip. She licked the blood from her mouth and swallowed. Then her eyes grew wide. Up ahead was a set of rapids. Now this was the action she had hoped for!

The water soon splashed over the gunwales, and Star held onto her seat as the canoe was tossed about like a cork in a bathtub. A few rocks forced them to veer to the left, and Star could have easily reached out and touched the green, slime covered boulders. There was a can next to her, and the guide instructed her to start bailing the water out. She went through steady movements to dump the slowly growing amount of water from the canoe.

She looked ahead to watch the rest of the canoes. They were going up and down over the large waves that were now pummeling the small canoe. Star held onto the side of the canoe with an iron grip. She would hate to take a plunge in the cold water and be swept away. She felt a limited sense of security with her life jacket on, but still knew that she could easily be sucked down and drowned.

"Having fun yet?" asked the guide, remembering Star's comment earlier.

"Oh, a swell time! Just ducky!" replied Star. She got hit by a wave in the face.

The others chuckled as she tried to wipe the wetness from her face. Star just sat for the next part of the trip. As the river's width increased the rapids decreased, but the river soon narrowed again. As the small group of canoes swept past a large outcropping of rocks, a huge wave swept past Star's canoe and knocked her into the river.

"Swim!" called the guide.

"I was planning on it!" Star yelled back.

Star was grabbed by the current and taken away from the canoes, who tried to follow as best they could. Star was now banging her legs against some rocks that were under the water, so she pulled her knees to her chest and hoped that it would be over soon.

An undertow pulled her down for about five seconds, but for Star it seemed like years; years without air. As she popped to the surface, Star could see the canoes far away, the small figures appeared to be searching the water for her. She shouted and waved, but the roar of the river was too loud for them to hear. Star tried to swim to shore, but the water was too swift, and she was taken farther downstream.

What a great place for a vacation! Star said to herself. She turned to see where she was going and collided with a rock, which knocked her out cold. As her limp body was swept downstream, the guides in the boats tried to calm the panicked tourists as they called for Search & Rescue.

Wulfe pulled his hat back and blinked in the sun. He was laying on his back on the grass along the shore of the River Rufus. He and Cyberwulfe had caught two fish already, and Wulfe was going for his second. The calm of the river and the cool breeze through the trees made him forget about the current dilemma that plagued Canis.

Wulfe saw something floating downstream. It looked like a big log, but was shaped differently. After watching it for a few seconds he realized what it was. It was a body!

"Cyber!"

"What is is?" shouted Cyber, running from a few meters downstream.

Wulfe dived into the water and returned a moment later, dragging the body onto the sand. It was a young fox.

"Is she...?" asked Wulfe.

Cyber ran his fingers over the limp body, all the time his brain whirred and clicked. He pulled a short shafted medical probe from his arm and scanned the fox's head, chest, and abdomen," She's barely alive! We need to get her breathing!"

"Uh... what do I do?" asked Wulfe. He was so used to killing people that he had never thought of what to do if he needed to save someone.

"We have to do CPR! I'll start the compressions. I want you to breath into her mouth every fifteen compressions!"

"You mean... just into her mouth?"

"No, put your mouth over hers and blow! Don't be afraid, she can't kiss you back, Wulfe."

Wulfe blushed a bit and knelt beside Star's head. Cyber put the heel of his hand on Star's sternum and interlaced his fingers. He began to compress Star's rib cage, counting as he did so," One and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and nine and ten and eleven and twelve and thirteen and fourteen and fifteen, breathe!"

Wulfe, a bit shakily, leaned down, covered Star's muzzle with his own, and blew. Star's cheeks puffed out and her chest rose slightly," Again!" said Cyber.

Wulfe breathed again.

Cyber did fifteen more compressions followed by two more breaths by Wulfe. After a minute Cyber checked her vital signs," We need to continue. You're doing great, Wulfe!"

Wulfe nodded. The compressions and breaths continued for another twenty seconds, then Star coughed and started to throw up water. She rolled over and coughed up green fluid.

"We did it!" shouted Wulfe.

"Yes, we did. I just hope she wasn't out more than six minutes or she may have some brain damage," replied Cyber.

Star looked up at Wulfe. She coughed again, this time without losing any liquid, and looked around her. She saw the two Canines, as well as heard the gentle river and the wind through the trees.

"Uh... hi!" she said weakly.

"Hi," replied Wulfe, still grinning. He helped her to a sitting position.

"What happened?" asked Star. She coughed again.

"Well, I was fishing and and saw you floating down the river. I pulled you out and then Cyber and I revived you."

Star looked at Cyber who nodded back. Star tried to stand, but fell against Wulfe who helped support her," I guess I'm a bit weak huh?" said Star.

"Here I'll help you to Cyber's cabin. We'll get you fixed up."

The trio walked through the woods towards Cyber's cabin, all the while Star described her trip to Canis as well as the canoe expedition.

Commander Sean Grayfield pressed the "Summon" button on the wall and waited for the familiar voice of the captain to allow him entrance. It came, and Sean strode through the now open door, straightening his olive green uniform. The five red squares indicating his rank glistened on his left breast.

The captain's main quarters was the most luxurious on the ship, not commonly found on a warship. The soft couches and dim lights allowed one to relax after a long day of commanding a ship three miles long through the distant reaches of space. Sean found the captain sipping liquor our of a thin, tall, blue glass. As he placed the glass on the table the contents fizzed and bubbled to the surface.

Sean saluted and handed a datapad to the captain. After a series of "Mmm-hmm" 's, the captain scratched his head and set the datapad on the table alongside the blue glass.

"Sir?" started Sean.

"I see," replied the captain," We should plan the attack and proceed as soon as possible. We will get back at those Canines."

"Yes sir," replied Sean.

"Meet in the tactical assembly room at 0700, and bring the generals."

Sean just bowed and exited.

The ungulates of the planet Mungul had beared a grudge against the Canines of Canis for as long as their species could remember. Since the main food source of the Canines before they became civilized were ungulates such as deer, moose, and elk, the citizens of Mungul decided to avenge their ancestors and wipe out the entire Canine race.

In order to do so, they required a massive weapon of destruction. Their ship, the Buck's Antler, was three-thousand twenty-five meters long. It's fighters were small diamond shaped ships that were armed with a single, stovepipe-barrelled laser cannon. With the combined firepower of the two-hundred thirty heavy laser cannons the ungulates were able to decimate any base in a matter of minutes.

Their secret to moving stealthily was a vapour machine, that absorbed moisture from the air and created clouds that were large enough to cover the whole ship. Since any idiot could look up and just say, "Hey, there's a big cloud up there!", the ungulates had developed their vapour machine to make the clouds churn and move with the existing wind, thus making it look more like a natural cloud. For traveling through space without being seen, the ship has two defenses: it was painted a dark gray to blend with the colour of space, and it also had a prototype cloaking device. Prototype or not, it had allowed the Buck's Antler to enter Canine airspace.

They had begun their reign of terror approximately two weeks earlier, first attacking a small military post. The attack went well, and they suffered no damage to themselves. The Canine base was obliterated, and barely two meters of wall remained standing. Their last attack was against the Canine Navy Installation Talon Base. The base contained several V-40 and V-45 fighters. Without their Royal Canis Navy, the Canines would have very limited defenses against the Munguls.

Sean had worked in the Mungul Air Defense Force for many years, but had never thought that he would take part in the destruction of an entire race. He had flown his way to Commander in less than two years, and now he had been placed on the newest and largest space cruiser ever constructed by his people. The heavily armed and armoured ship required a crew of two-hundred thousand ungulates, split up between officers, enlisted, and various troops, pilots, and gunners. If anything ever went wrong, it would be a naval disaster greater than the loss of the great galactic cruise ship, the Starship Titanic*.

Sean returned to his post on the bridge and sighed as he lowered himself into the captain's plush chair. He was in command for the next seven hours until he went to the tactical room to plan the attack on the next base.

Star shivered again. It had been several hours since she had been pulled from the River Rufus, but she still felt a slight chill. The warm mug of coffee felt good in her hands, and the liquid made her throat and stomach feel better. Wulfe threw a few more logs onto the fire and poked at the red coals with a long metal rod. He had stolen glances at Star as she had eaten and now sat beside the fire, wrapped in a blanket.

Cyber had decided that the secret member of the McCloud family would make a good addition to their strike force, but decided not to tell Star until she got her strength back. Wulfe now sat in a chair farther away from the fire, as Cyber monitored the sensors for any sign of the unknown attackers.

Wulfe had been in love many times, with other Canines, but with Star it was different. She was the bold type, or so Cyber had told him. She had fought against evil forces in the Lylat system for many years now, and, as she had told them, she was on vacation. Cyber spilled the beans about who she was so trying to lie about it was kind of pointless. Being a cyborg with intergalactic connections sometimes pays off, and knowing the elusive and rarely seen Star McCloud was a good thing, especially since she was an excellent pilot, and pilots were what they needed right now. But she was also only sixteen, which made the twenty-two year old Wulfe a bit disappointed.

Wulfe made sure Star was comfortable and then went to the room that Cyber had let him sleep in. He sat on the bed for a few minutes, too excited about the day's events to sleep. He lay back and and ran his fingers across his family ring; a momento he had found on Canorb 4 after it was destroyed. It had been worn by his father, but he must have removed it before the station was destroyed. It was Wulfe's only reminder of his parents, as well as their violent deaths by explosive decompression into space.

Wulfe's vow to kill Andross and avenge his parents deaths was always at the back of his mind, and now that Andross had started rebuilding his forces again Wulfe hoped for another chance to kill him. But until then he would wait on Canis and watch for the opportunity to come to him. But now he would help his friend Cyberwulfe defend their homeworld from this new, unknown enemy.

The rounded nose of the gigantic ship slid out of the clouds like a greased pig. The powerful laser cannons fired, tearing huge chunks out of the hangers and surrounding buildings. The defensive cannons began firing back, but caused little damage. Fighters soon tore out of the clouds and began firing with their huge guns.

The anti-aircraft guns fired but could not hold back the swarm of diamond-shaped attackers. The guns were soon reduced to flaming pieces of metal. The cruiser provided heavy covering fire for the fighters as their massive guns blew huge holes in the buildings below. A few Canine fighters managed to launch against the attackers, but they didn't stand a chance against the powerful cannons that the enemy fighters were armed with.

After ten minutes the base was gone. Only a flaming pile of rubble remained. The fighters disappeared into the clouds, followed closely by the huge cruiser. It seemed as if the base had been hit by an attack force of over two-hundred ships, that would have taken several hours to destroy the heavily fortified base. But there was no sign of any attackers, just a large cloud slowly floating to the east.

Star's eyes grew wide. The news hit her like a ton of bricks," Do you realize what you're asking me to do?" she asked.

"Only what you've done many times before," replied Cyber. He had told Star a bit earlier than Wulfe had expected.

"But never alone! Or with such a small force. We need to get some help, and I know exactly where to get it," exclaimed Star.

"No help," said Wulfe.

"What?" gasped Star.

"No help. I don't want the whole galaxy knowing I'm still alive. It'll ruin the surprise."

"So you're going to let a big ship tromp all over your home planet just to keep your little secret, is that it?"

Wulfe growled. Star was becoming annoying," I can take this thing out with just Cyber's help. I don't need you with your `experience'! Look kid, I've got enough experience for the both of us!"

"Yeah, but at least I usually know who I'm fighting," replied Star.

"Now we do. I happened to have a probe in the area," said Cyber. He pushed a button and an image of a cloud floated into view.

"A cloud? You got me all worried about a cloud?"

"Just watch."

The cloud soon changed into a large gray shape that Star could barely make out to be a rounded space ship," Magnified with a scale measure I've estimated that the ship is at least twenty-eight hundred meters long. It carries various weapons and a large amount of fighters that carry quite a punch!" Cyber explained.

"I think we should look for large clouds and fly in for a closer look," suggested Wulfe.

"No, we'll have to either let them come to us, or wait for another attack, then fly to counter it," finished Cyber.

"Well let's get ready!" said Wulfe, excitedly.

"Not yet. No use planning if they're going to attack tomorrow."

"Why's that?" asked Star.

"Tomorrow is the Seventh Day. We need to relax. Take the day off."

Wulfe rubbed his forehead with his hand," Oh brother. We're not going to church, are we daddy?"

Cyber grabbed Wulfe's arm and squeezed," I'm leading this group now, Wulfe, and if I say we wait, we wait!"

Wulfe rubbed his bruised arm. Cyber was a nice guy and all, but when it came to God and the Seventh Day he changed. Wulfe wondered how a person who had been involved with killing so many people could find favor in the eyes of God. Perhaps Cyber would start preaching, and if he did Wulfe promised himself to listen. Perhaps he could cleanse the darkness from his heart.

After breakfast, Star decided to take off and explore the area," Don't go too far," warned Cyber.

Star held up her blaster," I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself." She winked and left the cabin.

Star's first discovery was a small group of Kathrak; deer-like animals native to this part of Canis. She reached down, pulled a small silver box to her face, aimed, and pressed the red button. With a flash the Kathrak had gone, scared by the bright light and noise of Star's camera.

The river came into view. Star hesitated a moment, still afraid of the great power in the water, but then continued down to the bank. She removed her boots and waded in the cool water where the shallows didn't have any big currents that might pull her away. The sandy bottom reminded her of the Dune Sea on Titania, only without the water. Star only wished that there was water like this on Titania.

With the reminder of her den Star got idea. She put her boots back on and began to race back to the cabin. She knew where they could get the firepower to destroy the enemy cruiser. Then she looked down and saw a pool of hot, bubbling water. A natural spring! It was too tempting for Star, who felt like a nice hot bath. She slid out of her pilot's uniform and slowly lowered herself into the pool. It was very hot, but Star didn't mind. She just relaxed in the calmness, with no noise but the wind, and the gentle waves on the river.

"She went out for a walk. She'll be alright," said Cyber, who was monitoring the planet for any signs of attack.

"I hope so. And just a bit off the topic here, but why are you bothering to look if we aren't going to do anything about it?" asked Wulfe.

"The Navy works on Sundays, I don't. I'll relay a message to them. They could have a wing of fighters there within ten minutes."

"Any base could be wiped out within ten minutes!"

"Yeah, but the Navy has bases all over Canis. Who says that we won't be hours away?"

Wulfe sighed and looked towards the open door, which was letting in the cool morning air.

"I'm going to go look for Star."

"Don't be too late," replied Cyber.

Wulfe didn't know where Star may have gone, so he used his keen sense of smell to track her down. He came to a small rise that shot out towards the river at a height of about twenty feet. From there he had a good vantage point, and could see very far. He scanned the bank of the river, looked through the trees, and even looked straight down, but he couldn't... wait! There she was. In a pool of bubbling water. Wulfe's eyes widened when he realized she was naked, her clothes discarded by the pool like a two-year old's during a hot summer afternoon.

Wulfe, not really thinking, admired her body. The way her pointed head was in perfect proportions to her shoulders, waist, and legs, followed by a large bushy tail. The colour of her fur was darkened by the water, but still remained rusty red in colour. Embarrassed to have discovered such a jewel in the woods, Wulfe decided to blow his cover, but act as if he had accidentally stumbled across her.

"Oh my gosh! Star! I'm so sorry, I was looking for you and... oops!" blurted Wulfe.

Star's head whipped up and she looked straight at him," Get out of here you pervert!"

She picked up a large stone from the bottom of the pool and threw it at Wulfe. It bounced off his head, causing him to fall off the rock and right into the pool with Star. Not caring whether she was naked or not, Star grabbed Wulfe by his long hair and threw him out of the pool. He sat there, rubbing his sore scalp, then began laughing. There standing before him was a very angry and determined (yet nude) red fox. Wulfe held up his hands as a sign that he gave up, then turned around and allowed Star to get herself dressed.

The two of them returned to Cyber's cabin, Star still fuming about Wulfe's intrusion on her privacy. Cyber was sitting in the living room.

"Would you like to know what this son of a ***** just did!?" shouted Star, pointing at Wulfe.

"Please no swearing, Star. You know about..." began Cyber.

"Does your Bible say anything like `Thou shalt not peep at young naked foxes'?"

Cyber chuckled to himself, then at the dripping fox and wolf," You guys crack me up!"

Star and Wulfe looked at each other, then back at Cyber," What do you mean?" asked Wulfe.

"You remind me of myself. I was once young and foolish like yourselves," Cyber calmed himself," But all that is gone now."

Star went to her room and closed the door. She pulled off her damp clothes and dried herself off with a towel. Then a thought crossed her mind. She had no extra clothes. Now she was glad that she had planned to go to Titania to ship some heavy weapons from her base back to Canis.

She finished drying herself, then just flopped down on the bed. She jumped up, glanced out the window, closed the curtains, then lay back down again. She wasn't going to take any chances. Stupid Wulfe, she thought, You reallly stink too! Wet wolf! Eugh! She eventually fell asleep for a quick nap.

Sean was glancing out of his window as the ground drifted by slowly. As the Buck's Antler crept through the evening sky under the cover if its cloud, Sean admired the planet that he was ordered to destroy. There were many more life forms and plants, why waste it all because of the Canines? He took another sip of the purple liquid in his glass, not in the mood for alcohol he enjoyed a flavourful ice tea.
He looked across the blue tinted glass table at the stack of datapads that required his attention. The last attack had been successful, but an attack rarely goes without a price. Minor damage to the Antler, and six fighters had been lost. He sighed and drained his glass, then picked up the pad on the top of the pile. It was a report from a turret gunner on the belly of the massive ship. His station had taken a hit, two crew were dead, and the gun had been damaged beyond repair.

The next one was from the flight crew. The six destroyed fighters had to be left behind, and several more fighters that had been lightly damaged would take another four days to repair. Sean had once flown one of those fighters, and knew exactly how difficult they were to repair. The engineers were really pushing it when they said `four days'.

He was beginning to think whether it had all been worth it. They had lost over fifty crew members, seventeen fighters, and the Antler's gray hull was now dotted with black scars, indicating laser and missile hits. He was sure that the ship was indestructible, the mere size ensured the deflection of any weapons, but still... that was what they said about the Starship Titanic.

Yes, the Titanic. His grandparents had been on board when the giant space cruiser had collided with an asteroid and disappeared through a black hole, taking with it over 1,500 passengers and crew. His grandmother had survived, but his grandfather was never found. The ship only carried twenty escape pods, and most when they were launched were barely half-full. He made sure that the Buck's Antler carried enough escape pods that more than the entire crew would be able to escape, should they ever need to evacuate the ship; but that time would never come.

Monday.

An alarm went off in Cyber's galactic monitoring room. Cyber slid into the seat and rotated towards the large screen. After typing in several keys he discovered the location of the attack and called the Navy. Then he ran to get Star and Wulfe.

"They're at it again!" he shouted.

"How far?" asked Wulfe.

"Fifteen miles. That's three minutes at the most, if we maintain maximum burn," replied Cyber, slipping into his flight suit. He zipped up the front and secured his microphone to a plug that had been implanted in the side of his head.

"Great! I've been meaning to open her up!," said Wulfe, referring to his ship's engines," I'll get Star."

Wulfe ran outside and shook Star who had dozed off in the early morning sun," Huh?" she said.

"Star we need to go! Another base is under attack!"

"Oh my gosh!" said Star. She followed the other two, who were now sprinting to their fighters.

"Let's go!" said Wulfe.

"What about Star?" asked Cyber," We don't have a ship for her."

"Oh darn! I left Midnight Fox at the spaceport!" replied Star.

"You can take the copilots seat in my ship," said Cyber," Operate the gun turret."

"You got it!"

Star and Cyber got into the Soul Hunter as Wulfe fired up his Arwing. The engines whined as they were activated after nearly a week of dormancy. They rose through the trees and shot towards the thin line of smoke that was forming on the horizon.

As they approached the scene, the immenseness of the cruiser took them all by surprise.

"Man, that's the biggest ship I've ever seen!" gasped Wulfe.

"Well you've never fought a Super Star Destroyer," replied Cyber," They're eight miles long!"

"Geez! Either way we're gonna have some trouble taking it out," added Star.
The two fighters soared into the battle zone," I'll take the starboard flank!" said Wulfe.

He pulled his stick to the right and approached the group of diamond shaped fighters. They were totally unaware of his presence, until three of them exploded. They scrambled to find the unseen enemy. Another fighter exploded. The flight leader followed the source of the shots and found the Arwing with its wings folded up in a "Y" shape.

"Unidentified fighter at eight o'clock," he said into his intercom.

"I see him," replied one of his remaining group.

The diamond shaped fighter soared towards Wulfe's ship. Its tunnel gun fired a round, missing by several feet. Wulfe pulled hard left, then dived for the ground. After he was sure his opponent was still on him he pulled back on the stick, sending his fighter in a tight loop. He ended up on the fighter's tail. After firing several shots the fighter exploded. Wulfe leaned down and kissed his dashboard. Maybe this Arwing's somersault comes in handy after all, thought Wulfe.

Cyber and Star were having equal luck. Star learned quickly that Cyber was an excellent pilot, but of course he had years more experience than she did and Star didn't have any formal military training. The small, single-barreled remote controlled laser cannon wasn't too fast or slow, but just the right speed for tracking fighters and sending them to the "deck" in flames. She had bagged two kills, but Cyber, who had all the power of the other seven cannons at his fingertips, had shot down six already.

Star saw another fighter coming at them from the rear. Cyber was busy chasing a bogey so Star aimed and fired. The shots dug themselves deep into the hull of the enemy ship before causing the fighter to explode. The fireball was very bright, and Star pulled her sunglasses out of her pocket and put them on. No sense in getting herself blinded.

They were slowly approaching the base, shooting at fighters as they cut through the ranks. Cyber reported that there was a wing of fighters attacking the base, whatever that meant. Then Star found out. Her tactical display, which was conveniently in digital, read seventy-two ships. I think we're going to be a while, she said to herself.

Wulfe let loose with a Nova bomb, which succeeded in destroying several of the fighters. The counter dropped to sixty-four. Nice shot! she said to herself. Then she became aware of a force slamming against the ship. She scanned the sky and saw three fighters approaching from the rear.

"You want to get those guys? I'm on two right now and we can't let any get away!" said Cyber.

"No problem!" replied Star.

One set of shots destroyed a fighter, and the other two bugged out. She looked around and saw several more targets, in fact they were surrounded! She just aimed loosely and fired off random shots. Some shots connected, but none were enough to cause serious damage. She started to pay attention to her shots. Several fighters went down. Now that's better, she wanted to pat herself on the back, but the cramped cockpit prevented it.

Wulfe was directly over the base now, shooting at anything that moved. He had to be careful of the four Canine fighters, all V-45's, that had launched from the base's small hanger. They were holding out well, but mostly because of the V-45's powerful deflector shield. He picked off two fighters as they tried to destroy one of the V-45's. The pilot saluted Wulfe, who just tipped his wing and kept fighting.

Then a powerful blast hit his ship, and his shield meter dropped drastically. The cruiser was more accurate than he thought. His shields, now at 35%, could hold out for a while longer, but if many more shots connected he'd have to either bug out or join the many grounded pilots. He preferred the former option, but would wait until the time came before making a decision. He pulled to the right and chased down a few more bogeys.

Sean ran across the combat bridge. Located on the bottom of the ship if offered a perfect view of the carnage below, as well as the two ships who were cutting their formations to ribbons. The familiar Canis V-45, such as Sean had encountered many times before, as well as the strange fighter were causing damage that they had not expected. Sean was in charge of the guns as well as the fighters. He commanded a group to converge on the now weakened fighter.

Twelve fighters, though they were slow and shieldless, joined together in a perfect Line Abreast formation, ready to become a deadly firing line as the unidentified fighter crossed their sights. Wulfe didn't see them in time and was shocked as the bright red lasers buzzed his ship. He immediately dived his ship towards the ground, which was a mere twenty meters away. The shots followed, but only three scored. His shields dropped to 20%.

Cyber and Star had mopped up an entire group of fighters and now responded to Wulfe's cursing. They swung in, perfectly angled towards the straight line of enemy fighters. As Cyber fired, one by one the enemies exploded. It was a bad tactic to leave fighters so neatly lined up in case a fighter got a clean shot and strafed the entire line. There was nothing left of the Line Abreast formation except smoke.

"Thanks guys," said Wulfe.

"There's not much left. The others can handle it," said Cyber," And the Navy backup just arrived. I say we get closer!"

"What?" gasped Star.

"Yes, I said closer. Move as close as you can and engage that cruiser at point blank range," replied Cyber.

"But at that close range we won't last long against that cruiser!"

Wulfe glanced at the large group made up of V-40's an V-45's that the Navy had just sent and spoke into his mic," Shut up Star!" then to Cyber," You're the boss. Let's go for it!"

The two fighters aimed their sights at the large bulge that protruded from the bottom of the cruiser and fired. The shots hit home. Both laser and missile connected with the armoured hull, causing even whole plates of titanium to peel off and fall to the ground.

The explosion knocked Sean to the floor. He quickly got up and glared out the window at the two fighters as they continued along the hull, just barely out of the range of the guns. The fighters shot lasers at the hull, apparently not aiming for any particular spot but just trying to cause as much damage as possible. Then one lucky shot from one of the Antler's cannons caught the strange fighter on the starboard side, causing it to smoke and then lose altitude. This left it wide open to the rest of the belly guns.

The V-45 flew between the fighter and the cruiser, acting as a shield until the fighters were out of range. Then they flew off towards the horizon and disappeared.

Wulfe jumped down from the Lupine and threw his helmet against a tree.

"Dang! We were doing so well!" he shouted. He kicked at the dirt, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

Cyber and Star were calmly climbing down from the V-45 and then walked over to Wulfe as if nothing had happened," Think she'll fly tomorrow, Wulfe?" asked Star.

"Why, she's far from combat if she'll even get off the ground."

"We're going to my secret base to beef up and get some heavy weapons," replied Star.

"Sounds like a good idea. Maybe I could reload on Nova Bombs?" said Wulfe.

Star smiled," Sure! Anything you need."

Sean quivered slightly as the captain paced back and forth in his office. The ship had sustained minor damage, but they had lost nearly forty fighters in the attack. Since the Commander was the one in charge of fighters and guns, which meant the defense of the ship, he was in a very bad position.

"How long will it take to repair the damage to the Antler?" asked the captain.

"At the rate we're going... three days," replied Sean.

"We need to retreat to the safety of the Canis moon before making another move," said the captain.

"Yes sir, but we can't leave until some of the damage is repaired. Some vital systems were nearly damaged and they may melt when we burn through the atmosphere."

The captain nodded and sat in a chair behind his desk," Make it two days."

"Uh, yes sir," replied Sean.

"And Commander?"

"Yes sir?"

"If anything like this happens then next time you're on duty, it'll be more than your antlers that get sawed off!"

Sean waited for the door to his quarters to close before starting his rage. He picked up a chair and threw it against the wall. Then smashed an expensive vase, sending water and flowers across the floor. He opened his drawers and threw his clothes all over his sleep chamber, then calmed down and flopped down onto the bed, drained of his angry energy.

He had worked too hard to be either demoted or executed. The captain wouldn't admit it, but without him this mission would never have gotten off the ground. He was the last of the high-ranking officers chosen to command the Buck's Antler, and was the perfect buck for the job. Picked out of a group of fifty other prime candidates, Sean's previous credits as ace pilot got him the job. He was now in charge of the fighters as well as gunnery, but without him at the trigger or in the cockpit he wasn't much good to them.

But he would get his chance. If he ever saw those fighters again he would mutiny and take the fight to them, and either take them down and become a hero, or die trying.

The bright star of Solar lit up Wulfe's cockpit as he came out of hyperspace. A small plume of smoke drifted into his cockpit. The patch job that he and Star had put together back on Canis had just barely held together. Good thing Star was such an ace with ships, especially Arwings.

He could now see the other two ships, the familiar V-45 and then Star's own Arwing, Midnight Fox. Star came over the communicator," Okay guys, first thing's first. My base is my personal secret. Aside from a few choice people I'm the only person who knows where this place is. You need to promise to take a memory potion that is specifically formulated to eliminate the location of my base from your memory," said Star.

"I promise," said Wulfe.

"And Cyber," continued Star," You'll have to let me access your brain and delete the location from your data tracks."

"I understand," replied Cyber.

"Okay boys, time to go where very few have gone before!"

Midnight Fox turned towards the sandy wasteland of the planet Titania.

They soared over the bright tan-coloured sand dunes, frightening various types of creatures that were specially adapted for life on the desert world. Star's ship stopped and hovered over a certain spot behind a large rock that jutted out from the sand. A huge door slid open in the desert floor, allowing entrance to a tunnel that led straight down.

"Follow me in. But be careful, it's a tight fit!" said Star.

Wulfe went in after Star, followed by Cyber. The door slid shut after them and Wulfe looked up at the grains of sand that fell on his triangular canopy. After about two minutes of drifting they dropped into a large hanger where there were several painted circles indicating landing pads.

Midnight Fox landed on the closest pad, then Wulfe took the next one, and Cyber landed his V-45 on the third. Their engines calmed down then died as the power was shut off. Wulfe climbed down, in awe of the huge hanger. It looked as if it could comfortably hold an entire armada of fighters, and it's secret location would ensure surprise. He whistled then walked over to Star.

"Nice place. Where did you pick it up?" asked Wulfe.

"A friend and I built it. Took quite a while too, but it would have taken longer if we didn't carve it out of this underground rock rather than digging through the sand. It gets kind of cool but it's a welcome change from the climate up topside!" replied Star.

"That's for sure. Even with my AC on I still felt the heat," said Wulfe.

Cyber approached them and asked an important question," Now what do we do?"

After three turns of the big wheel the huge armoured door swung open to reveal Star's weapon's cache. Everything from laser pistols to twenty-foot cruise missiles were stashed away in a fifteen by twenty meter room. The ceiling was at least fifty feet high, and hanging from cables was a long sleek-looking black fighter that bristled with weapons.

Wulfe whistled again," Nice fighter!"

"That's Midnight Fox's sister ship, The Phantom. It has no engine, and the wiring is all shot, but one day I might sit down and play around with her. Until then she can stay where she is."

Wulfe nodded. He made a mental note in his head to contact Star in about ten years to see if The Phantom was ready for flying. Star was busy with a crowbar, trying to pry the lid off of a large crate," Hey guys, how 'bout a hand. This thing has been sealed for decades."

"Sure thing," replied Wulfe. He ran over and grabbed the end of the crowbar. He pushed up with all his strength, but the lid merely creaked as the nails were pulled out a fraction of an inch.

"Let me give it a try," said Cyber. He gripped the metal bar in both hands then ripped the lid off the crate.

"Nice job, Cyber. Let's take her out," said Star.

Wulfe, Star, and Cyber all looked inside the box. There inside was a six-foot long missile, with a red nose, a smiley face painted on the tip, and the words "It'll be a blast!" stenciled to the side. Star smiled then began attacking another box. With the help of Cyber they opened two other boxes for a total of three missiles.

"I never thought I'd ever have to use these but we have no choice," said Star.

"What are they? Ship killers?" asked Wulfe, thinking about the specially designed missiles that could penetrate a cruiser's shields and blow it to pieces.

"No. Much more powerful. These are full tactical nukes."

Cyber gasped," You're not planning on using these are you?"

"It's our only chance. We need to use something against that thing's bulk. Either that or we could try pounding at it for days on end without so much as causing a scratch."

"Not over my planet!" said Cyber, his crosshairs flashed and his left hand instinctively moved over his gun.

Wulfe, sensing the change in Cyber's mood stepped between the other two," Cyber, I admit that I don't want to fire nukes over Canis either but we need to stop them somehow."

"What about those cruise missiles?" asked Cyber, looking for another way.

"They won't do much. Besides, they're over a hundred years old and their warheads should have disabled themselves by now," replied Star. She knelt down and patted one of the nukes," We have to do it this way."

Cyber walked to the wall and punched a large divit into it. Slightly calmed he returned to Star. Trying to use his seven-foot four body as a weapon of intimidation he let the words slide out as cooly as possible," I will not allow nuclear missiles to be fired over my planet. If you try to use them I will shoot you down before you can fire them off, understand?"

Star looked back up at him, apparently not impressed," Fine! Then we'll just let them blow up Canis without our help, is that what you'd prefer?"

Cyber looked away, then glanced back in her direction," I will do whatever it takes to destroy them, but I will not destroy the planet in the process."

"Stop being so stubborn! If we used these then we could end it in one shot. Sure the area would take a few years to recover, but the whole planet would take longer. I say we fix our ships and fly back there and nuke that ship out of the sky!" shouted Star. Her argument finished she stormed out of the room, but not without finishing," I'll be in the command room; if you can find it!"

Wulfe watched her go, then put a hand on Cyber's shoulder," I'm not really big on the idea either, but it's the best option."

"You mean you're actually agreeing with her. Your love is blinding you, Wulfe!"

"What are you talking about. I have no attraction to Star whatsoever. However, I do agree with her. We'll just have to find a way of luring them to a quiet spot, like over the ocean or something. Earth used to test nukes over their oceans all the time," said Wulfe.

"But they obviously have something against Navy bases. There are no bases out to sea. If only we could get them far enough out into space that the radiated remains of their ship wouldn't fly back towards Canis. Nuclear fallout wouldn't be too good this time of year," said Cyber.

"What if we managed to get on board the ship and destroy it from the inside? Then we could save Canis and not risk nuclear radiation?"

"It might work, but how do we get on board? We'd also need to know the layout of the ship. It would be impossible."

"I suggest we do both. How much do you know about nukes, Cyber?" asked Wulfe, his pondering mind starting to click.

"Enough, why?"

Sean sighed. The repairs to the wounded systems were finally done, and not a moment too soon. The sun had just begun to rise on the third day. The captain would be pleased. Now they could head for the nearest moon and prepare for the next phase of their attack. He had planned several messages that would be sent to their home base requesting supplies as well as more fighters. Central Command wouldn't be too pleased with their losses, but they had the funding of the government behind them so they wouldn't bicker.

The captain arrived on the bridge and, after hearing about the completed repairs, ordered the helmsman to take the ship away. As the huge bulk began to rise to an uneven forty-degree angle, Sean grabbed a bulkhead to keep himself from stumbling backwards. The artificial gravity on the ship was very poor, but Sean hoped that the captain wouldn't notice and that the repair crews would have it in proper working order soon.

As they passed through the atmosphere, Sean viewed another of Canis' beauties: the blue and red colours of the stratosphere. He let himself be taken in by the addictive colours. Many tourists had been killed by the heat of re-entry because they wanted to see the colours again, a phenomenon that didn't exist on any other known planet. Then it was gone, replaced by the blackness of space.

The ship's lumbering pace meant that it would take about twelve hours to reach the moon. Once there they would be able to further any small repairs and call for resupplies which could be approved and shipped within two days. Sean took hold of himself again. No use standing in awe of the planet he had to destroy, but he still thought it a shame.

Wulfe sat up as a knock reverberated through the small chamber that Star had given him to sleep in. "How do you like that?" Wulfe had said a few hours earlier," Cyber gives Star her own room in his nice cozy cabin, and now look at how she repays us!" He got up and stretched his cramped legs, then opened the door. It was Cyber.

"Yeah?" said Wulfe, barely half-awake.

"We need you in the command room," replied Cyber.

"Alright alright. Just give me ten more minutes," replied Wulfe; ten hours more like it!

"We don't have the time. We need you there now. There's a plan."

"Ooh! A plan. Let's go," said Wulfe, still feeling half dead.

He followed Cyber into the hall, down the narrow shaft, and back inside the massive hanger. They climbed a steep flight of metal stairs and then arrived at the command room. Star was sitting among a mix of computer terminals, sensor screens, and other large monitors that resembled Cyber's, only larger and with the solar power of Titania to back it up.

Star, hearing footsteps, rotated her chair to greet the two Canines," Hey guys, time for your briefing."

"Ngghhh," mumbled Wulfe.

"Now," began Star, hoping Wulfe was coherent enough to understand her," What we need to do is, as Wulfe pointed out last night, if possible get on board the enemy ship and destroy it from the inside. If this is not possible then we'll have to nuke it."

"Okay, but I hope you don't mind that Wulfe and I played with your missiles last night?" said Cyber.

"You did what! What did you do?" gasped Star.

"We lowered their explosive potential to 200 kilotons. Did you have any idea what their ratings were?" said Cyber.

"No. I just acquired them after my base was built."

"Well, two of them were rated over 1000 kilotons. That would have blown a nice neat hole in Canis. The third was only 500, but now they're all 200. It's still enough to destroy the ship, but Canis may still survive."

"Alright, then we'll do it your way. Besides, I don't know much about nukes except that they can destroy a large target very quickly," said Star.

"Hey Star," said Wulfe," I noticed a little compact blaster that would fit very nicely inside the Lupine as a retractable gun. Do you mind if I...?"

"Sure, take anything. All that stuff will probably just end up rusting out in the next decade or so."

"Thanks a lot!" said Wulfe, and he ran to the weapons room to grab his new toy.

"We'll need to gather up some close-combat weapons too. Palm blasters, knives, that sort of thing," said Cyber.

"We should go and check out what will be the right thing for the job," suggested Star.

The door creaked open again as Star and Cyberwulfe entered. Star pulled a couple of crates over to Cyber and he pulled the lids off. There lay before them a virtual treasure trove of small arms," We should find a few things here that will be good for a two-person raid," said Cyber.

Star nodded as Cyber searched through the weapons. After about half an hour of looking, prying, cleaning, and testing they had enough weapons to break into Fort Knox and then back out again. Cyber collected the weapons into two belts that Wulfe and Star would wear when they boarded the ship. Each held two blaster pistols, a knife, four grenades, a concussion rifle, and Wulfe also had his own sword. A palm blaster would be strapped to each wrist as an added precaution.

Cyber and Star met with Wulfe in the hanger, who was quickly attaching the small cannon to a space inside the Lupine's forward fuselage. With the setup a small door would slide open, allowing the gun to extend out up to two meters, giving it a wide shooting radius. With a skilled gunner at the controls it could nail a fly from thirty feet away. Wulfe bolted the gun mount to the wall of the space and began to attach various wires to several ports and clips.

"Need any help, Wulfe?" asked Star.

"Nope," replied Wulfe," You may know more about ships than I do, but when it comes to weapons I'm the top ace around here."

Star just grinned and admired the compliment he had given her, almost ignoring his arrogance. She knew plenty about weapons. She would have to show him that he wasn't the best mercenary in the Lylat system, even though his reputation preceded him. She would show him that she could shoot and run and fight just as well and as hard as he could, or die trying. She hoped that it would be easier than it looked, but the odds were staggering.

After two hours and a well cooked meal provided by Star they were relaxing before the big fight; the "Main Event". Wulfe had asked where the showers were and, when directed, wasted no time in rushing through the labyrinth of hallways to soak himself in cool, refreshing water.

He sat in the large stall, not bothering to wash himself; he just wanted to relax in the cool dampness. It was now that his life came back to him. At this one point it seemed that he was about to lay down and die, that this could be his last mission. But he would fight it out, to the bitter end. He glanced up at the shower head and let the water spray in his face. It felt good, like the waterfall on Canis where he had stood to keep cool during a hot afternoon.

He sighed and shut the water off. After sliding the shower door open he reached up to a hook on the wall for one of the big, white fluffy towels that were hanging there. But they were gone, as were his clothes. He looked around the floor where they had laid but saw nothing.

"Looking for these?" asked a familiar voice from behind him.

Wulfe whirled around to see Star, holding his clothes and the towels in her arms," Give me those!" he shouted.

"Gee Wulfe. You're kind of... nekkid!" laughed Star.

Wulfe looked down, then remembered his own accident with Star, but this was no accident. Since there was no point in covering himself now he ran at Star to get his clothes back. She screamed and ran out the door and into the hall, followed closely by a still dripping Wulfe.

He ran after her. She was pretty fast, but he was able to catch up. He tackled her and they rolled over each other, wrestling for the pieces of fabric that Wulfe needed to remain decent.

"Are you kids having fun?" asked Cyber, who was standing a mere six feet away.

All Star and Wulfe could do was look at each other. Then they began to laugh. Star threw Wulfe's clothes at him and Wulfe quickly turned away to put them on. When the laughing stopped the seriousness set in again. Cyber motioned for them to follow him. He led them into another of Star's large meeting rooms. Cyber walked to the center of the room and looked at the others.

"I just wanted to say a prayer before we leave," said Cyber.

"Oh no! Not more church stuff!" said Wulfe.

Star slapped his shoulder," I think it's cool. Good idea Cyber."

"Let's form a circle," said Cyber.

Wulfe grumpily joined the circle as the others held hands. Wulfe noticed the contrast between the two; Star's warm hand and Cyber's cold steel grip. Cyber began the prayer," Lord, we gather here now to ask you to lay your hands upon us. We need your strength to help us in our quest for justice. We know that many may die, but it must be done to save millions of others. Please help us, and protect us from danger. In Jesus' almighty name, Amen."

"Amen," added Star.

Wulfe just grumbled. They left the room quietly. Wulfe brought up the rear after holding back for a few seconds. Give me strength, oh Lord, prayed Wulfe.

The massive cruiser crept out from behind the large moon that orbited Canis. Its cover gone the ship would have to rely on its colour and shape to elude detection. The trip back to the planet would take a few hours, but there was plenty to do. The new fighters had to be prepped and armed, the dozen or so new crew members had to be quickly briefed on their objectives, and Sean wanted another drink before going on duty.

The cool ice tea was refreshing, especially after the past two days of grueling repairs and long distance calls to his home planet. He sighed as he placed the cup back on the table and stood up. He straightened his uniform and walked out towards the main bridge. He wondered what would happen during the next attack. Would they encounter the two mysterious pilots again? If so, Sean would rush out to attack, leading his own squadron of highly trained pilots.

Cyber engaged his shield-cloak and soon wavered into nothingness. His ship had disappeared. Then Wulfe tried his system with the same result. Star grinned, "Am I a genius or what?" she said out loud.

"Nice work, genius. Now let's get going," said Wulfe.

The three invisible ships entered hyperspace for Canis as the pilots inside them prepared themselves for the battle that was soon approaching, and inevitable.

Their ships emerged at the same location, mere meters from each other. They had a good view of the surrounding area, with Canis dead ahead and the wreckage that still floated from the battle with Andross floating behind them.

"Hey!" shouted Wulfe," There it is!"

Cyber glanced and squinted, but could barely make out the long, rounded shape of the three-mile long cruiser," Son of a gun! It's in space. Now we can take it out away from the planet."

"Do you guys really think this will work?" asked Star.

"It had better," said Wulfe," Or this'll be the shortest offensive of all time."

The invisible ships shot towards the cruiser, tension building inside as they grew closer. What if the systems failed? They would reappear directly in front of the large ship, in pointblank range of the monstrous guns. Star swallowed hard, she knew that she was a whiz with building things, but sometimes things get bugs in them, especially when they're put together in less than a day and are untested until Zero Hour.

As they drifted under the hull, they could see inside the large windows. Various types of ungulates walked about, performing their duties like robots. One kept pressing the same five buttons in succession until a red card slid out of a hole. He would take it, write something on it, then pass it to another officer. These are the guys who are wiping out Canine bases? thought Wulfe.

Then the moment came. They parked next to an escape hatch in the bottom of the ship. Star and Wulfe, in their cramped cockpits, donned their Zero-G suits and prepared for a space walk. As soon as Wulfe was ready he made sure his weapons belt was secure then opened his cockpit. The hissing sound that the air would have made while escaping from of the cockpit was inaudible in the blackness of space, but Wulfe knew that there was no returning to his ship for the next fifteen minutes as the air was pumped back into the cockpit.

Star joined him beside the hatch, a little edgy about the bulky suit. Wulfe had worn one several times, for as long as three hours at a time, so he did most of the work. The hatch slowly opened and Star drifted into the open space. Wulfe gave Cyber a thumbs-up before slipping into the space and closing the hatch shut behind him.

Cyber engaged the tractor beam projector that had been mounted to the bottom of his ship and grabbed the Lupine and Midnight Fox. He took them out of the range of the expected blast and made sure that they wouldn't drift, then he waited. In thirty minutes he would fire the nuke that he carried, and hopefully destroy the cruiser. If one wasn't enough he was linked to the other fighters, and he could aim and fire the nukes from his own ship. But he hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

Star peeked around the corner at the deer guard. She aimed carefully with her blaster and fired. The guard dropped to the floor. She ran out and dragged the body back to where Wulfe was waiting.

"Now remember, use you blaster the most. We've got extra power packs so don't worry about ammo, and these guys will most likely have refills too. If not we'll have to steal their weapons and use their power packs," said Wulfe.

Star nodded.

Wulfe slipped the large concussion rifle off his shoulder and clicked a power cell battery into place," Only use this one against a large group of enemies, or use a grenade. No use wasting ammo for this baby on one guy. We can't reload."

Star nodded again," Okay, let's do it!"

They crept into the hallway where the deer guard had stood a moment before, then turned around a corner. They had hoped to find schematics to the ship so they could find the engineering section and blow up the main engine reactor. That would cause a chain reaction that would spread through the rest of the ship and destroy it.

The first room was empty, and contained various control panels and small blinking monitors. Star, who was an ace at hacking through computers, tried her luck at getting a picture of the inside of the ship. No luck. The controls were mainly for the waste disposal system.

"What a great part of the ship to end up in!" said Star," At least we shouldn't expect too many guards in this area."

Wulfe nodded and and signaled for her to follow. They walked down a narrow passageway that Wulfe hoped led to a larger area. It did, and it had four guards in it. They saw Wulfe and drew their guns, but were blown off their feet by the blast of Star's concussion rifle. The four bright blue explosions made Wulfe cover his eyes. When he looked again there were four charred bodies on the floor.

"Use only on large groups, huh?" smiled Star.

"Nice shooting!" said Wulfe.

Star slid the rifle back onto her shoulder. She sure showed him!

Several nearby computer terminals were scorched as well, but otherwise intact. Star began typing keys as soon as she found one that still looked fully operational. She tried hard to keep herself from cheering," Here it is," she whispered to Wulfe.

Wulfe leaned next to her and glanced at the blue lines on the screen that served as an outline for the giant vessel," You did it! Nice work!"

Wulfe ran his finger along several service crawl spaces until he ran into the engineering section, a massive area that took up most of the aft part of the ship. He plugged a data pad into a port and started feeding the information into it," Now we'll have a map to follow," he said.

When the data feed was complete Star shut down the system and joined Wulfe who was already making his way down the hall. He stopped, then looked at the data pad, then at the wall. He pulled out his gun and fired. A hatch flapped open and fell to the floor.

"Oh great! Now the whole ship'll know we're here!" said Star.

Wulfe just winked at her and crawled into the small tunnel that ran from one end of the ship to the other. Star went in backwards and pulled the hatch back to its proper place on the wall with the black blast mark on the inside to keep their location secret a few minutes longer.

Star checked her watch. They had been on board for eight minutes. Time was running out, so they would have to hurry. She heard a shout from up ahead, then a blaster shot. Wulfe kept moving and Star soon passed over the dead body of an engineer who had obviously been blocking the way. Wulfe checked the data pad. The next turn was dead ahead. He went around the corner, followed by Star, and saw a sealed door. He checked the map and pounded his fist on the wall.

"Why didn't I didn't see this before?" he said, disgusted by the block.

"I'll have us through in a second," said Star, fiddling with the door's control panel.

She pulled out one of her various hacking tools and probed around the control panel's insides. A small spark shot out of the wall and Star's hair frizzed out, but the door opened.

"There," said Star, coughing out some smoke," Piece of cake."

Wulfe only grinned and continued down the passageway.

Cyber was getting nervous. The cruiser had launched three fighters and they were coming towards him. He gripped his flight stick and gently put his finger over the trigger. If they tried anything they'd be toast in two seconds. To his surprise they flew right past him. They still couldn't detect or see him. Star is a genius, he thought.

For the third time in the past eleven minutes, Cyber locked onto the ship with the nuke, then shut off his targeting computer. He wished that he had brought along a deck of cards to pass the time, and his computer game of Solitaire couldn't be loaded because he needed every bit of memory for the complex cloaking shield. He'd ask Star for a memory upgrade, but he'd have to wait to see if she lived first before asking any favors.

Wulfe glanced down into the hallway below; it was empty. They were now only a few meters from the engineering section, and Wulfe was sweating. Not only because he was nervous, but because they were right next to one of the massive engines' exhaust pipes, which ran from engineering to several ports on the outside.

He let Star go first, then dropped down after her. He pulled out his pistol then did a complete turn. He bumped into a rather large and muscular guard.

"Oh crap!" he shouted.

Star pulled her blaster up but she was taken by surprise by a guard herself. She began to fight. Wulfe shot a blast at the guard but it bounced of his armoured suit. The guard knocked Wulfe's gun away. Wulfe unsheathed his sword and swung it at the guard. The guard ducked and hit the blade, the vibration was painful and Wulfe dropped it as well. He was now fighting with his bare hands, and not doing too well against the larger opponent.

Star threw her opponent against the wall, knocking him out. Then she turned to see how Wulfe was doing, only to have him crash into her. The large guard grinned as he towered over them.

"Got a plan, big guy?" asked Star.

"If only I had my sword," said Wulfe.

The sword, which now lay several feet away, quivered and made a grinding sound as it moved six inches towards Wulfe.

"What?" gasped Wulfe. The guard was surprised as well. Then Wulfe understood," My sword!" he shouted.

The sword slid along the ground and flew through the air. It landed in Wulfe's hand and he swung it at the guard. The guard's head flew off its shoulders and rolled down the hall as the decapitated body slumped prone on the floor.

Star gasped, it had all happened so quickly that it took her totally by surprise. She looked around for some place to puke. Wulfe merely looked down at his weapon, "Mystical sword, huh? Heh!" Then he saw Star, still vomiting in a doorway," C'mon you softy," he said to Star," We're almost there."

"Wrong!" came a voice from behind them," This is as far as you go!"

During the fight Star had accidentally dropped her concussion rifle, and it was now in the hands of a very determined Commander Sean Grayfield," I believe this is a concussion rifle," he said coldly," And if you even twitch you'll be nothing but two charcoal briquettes lying on the floor."

Wulfe growled and Star clenched her fists, but there was nothing either of them could do. Soon they were surrounded by a dozen more guards. They were escorted to the bridge where they were set before the captain, a majestic white buck with a large set of antlers. Most of the other officers, Wulfe had noted, had theirs cut off, but the captain had obviously kept his as a sign of his superiority over the rest of the crew.

"So these are the two who have been sneaking through the ship?" he said in a deep voice.

"Yes sir," replied Sean," I captured them."

"Good job Commander. There may be a promotion in store for you."

Sean only grinned, then looked at Wulfe and Star," You mercenary scum will never destroy this ship. Who put you up for this, hmm? The Canis Government? The RCN?"

"Never mind, Sean. We have them and they can't cause any further damage."

"You wish!" scowled Wulfe.

A guard hit him over the back of the head with his rifle. Wulfe fell to his knees.

"What do you mean by that?" asked the captain.

"Why should I tell you? Star, how much time is left?"

Star glanced down at her watch," Four minutes."

Wulfe stood up and glared at the two officers in front of him," In four minutes we will all die."

The captain laughed," Nice try, but we confiscated every scrap of weaponry from you, including those pitiful palm blasters. How could you possibly destroy this ship, with your bare hands?"

"Star?"

"Three minutes."

Wulfe was trying to make the captain sweat.

"What are you talking about? Answer me!"

Wulfe stood there. He was ready to meet the end. He only hoped that Cyber would aim for the bridge and make it quick. But he wasn't so lucky.

"Tell me why you're trying to destroy Canis and I might tell you," said Wulfe, a sly look came across his face.

"Alright. I'll play your little game," the captain approched Wulfe," For years the Canines had preyed upon my people. Viciously attacking. Now that we have the power and resources to fight back we are going to erradicate the entire planet, taking every stinking Canine with it!"

"You're going to kill everyone by destroying the planet? Why not just send in your `vast resources'? replied Wulfe.

The captain only chuckled and returned to his chair," You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs," and he grinned an evil grin at Star and Wulfe.

Cyber watched as the last four seconds counted down on his chronometer, then sighed.

"Sorry Wulfe, but we agreed, and half an hour it will be. May Canis forgive me!" he said.

He flipped on the targeting computer again, this time he pressed the red button on the top of his flight stick as the large gray shape turned red and the beeping turned into a long, blaring scream.

The missile's rocket ignited and it shot out towards the cruiser. Cyber's fighter shook as the mighty projectile left it's brackets. The lights flickered and his computer went off-line. Then he noticed that he was no longer invisible, and the flight of enemy fighters was now coming in his direction.

The nuke continued on its path of destruction towards the cruiser. When it was in range the ship opened fire with its cannons, but to no avail. It struck the aft section of the ship, sending a shock wave through the vessel and blowing through the shields and armour plate like a sledgehammer through glass.

Wulfe listened as the captain shouted at Star to shut up as she counted down the last ten seconds. He then looked at the captain and smiled," I guess you lose, captain."

The captain's attention was drawn away as a lieutenant began shouting at him," There's a missile on a direct course for us!"

"What!?"

"A ship was cloaked, and it fired a missile at us. Its cloak is gone now and we have fighters intercepting now."

"Oh no! Cyber!" cried Star.

"Cyber? You mean Cyberwulfe? We thought that planet defending robot might get in the way. Now our fighters will dispose of him."

"Sir the missile is in range!" shouted the lieutenant.

"Fire all batteries! Don't let it hit us!"

The captain watched as bright flashes of energy shot out towards the missile. Wulfe hoped and even prayed that it would make it through the "Gauntlet". It flew out of his range of sight, Wulfe knew the end was near.

The sudden shock wave knocked everyone off their feet. Wulfe took the opportunity to jump the nearest guard and start blasting with a gun in each hand. Two more guards went down, then the officers drew their guns and opened fire. Star picked up two pistols from the floor and joined Wulfe behind the captain's large command chair.

"I think the odds are slightly against us," said Star.

"Yeah, no kidding!" shouted Wulfe. He fired another shot over the chair.

Laser blasts smashed against the back of the chair, tearing huge chunks out of the wood. Wulfe wasn't sure how long it would serve as an adequate shield. Then he saw that the dead guards still had their confiscated gear with them. Wulfe jumped for the nearest one and grabbed the concussion rifle and three grenades.

A laser blast hit him in the shoulder and he fell to the floor. He rolled onto his back and fired two shots with his concussion rifle. The first shot took out three trigger-happy officers, the second wiped out any other opposition. Wulfe was bleeding badly, but he still managed to hoist the rest of his gear onto his back again, then tossed the other sack to Star.

"You're hurt," she said.

"Ay, a scratch," he grinned. They ran quickly down the hallway," I wish I still had that darn data pad, I could find the escape pods."

Although the explosions were rocking the ship, several guards still tried to stop them. While Star fought with two of them Wulfe unsheathed his sword and threw it at a group of three. The sword swung in an arc, slicing through each guard, then returned to Wulfe's hand. He patted the hilt," Good sword," then he chuckled.

Cyberwulfe was doing fairly well against the enemy fighters. Several had exploded before the power of his laser cannons. He saw that the massive cruiser had received incredible damage, but it remained on-course. He took remote control of the still invisible Lupine and locked the nuke on the cruiser. The white hot flame shot out of the tail end of the missile and shot forth from the belly of the awkward looking Arwing. Unlike Cyberwulfe's ship, Wulfe's remained invisible.

Cyber pulled up, tracking a fighter, and blasted it out of the sky. His computer showed the missile as a red dot, rapidly approaching the cruiser. There was a bright flash as the second nuke exploded. The weakened hull and shields couldn't handle the force of the second explosion. Several large explosions erupted from the sides of the ship. Cyber prayed that Wulfe and Star would be able to escape before the explosions finally engulfed the ship.

Wulfe grabbed Star's arm and ran down the hallway, but they were greeted by flames. The fire was spreading through the ship faster than Wulfe had guessed. Most of the ship was lit up like a fire cracker. An explosion knocked him down again, this time taking Star with him. She landed on his shoulder, which squirted blood all over her. He was hurt bad, this she could see.

She got up and helped Wulfe to his feet," It's no use. We'll never get out of here in time. This place'll blow before we could locate the escape pods. May God help us now!"

"Then I guess I'll see you in heaven!" shouted Wulfe, over the blare of the red alert sirens and explosions.

He grabbed her by the head and kissed her. She didn't fight it, but just let him do it. She knew how he felt about her, perhaps she felt the same way about him, but now wasn't the time to think about that. After a few seconds they parted. Wulfe smiled," I figured we ought to go out in style, eh?"

"Yeah," replied Star, blushing.

Then, running around the corner, came a frightened fawn of an officer. Wulfe pulled out his pistol, grabbed the deer around the neck, and jammed the barrel into its right eye while holding it two feet off the ground," Where are the escape pods!?" he shouted.

"I... uh," stammered the deer. Wulfe clicked his blaster into the "FIRE" position," Ahhh! Okay, uh... they're down this way."

"Go!" shouted Wulfe.

Rubbing his bruised eye, the young officer led Wulfe and Star down the hall, around a few corners, and into a large room that resembled a cargo bay.

"There," said the fawn, pointing to the wall where several large, octagonal shapes jutted out.

Wulfe shoved the deer out of the way and ran to the nearest pod. He pressed a button to open it and hoped that Star could do the rest.

"We can't just leave him here, and you were so hard on him too. He's just a kid," said Star.

Wulfe looked at Star, then over at the crying deer," C'mon kid. You don't wanna stick around here."

The fawn looked around, making sure it was okay, then ran and jumped into the pod.

"You'd better not pee yourself!" said Wulfe.

The fawn just sat in he corner with his knees folded up to his chest. He let out a little sigh and a tear trickled down one cheek.

Cyber dodged another volley of laser blasts and returned fire. Another fighter exploded. He was down to his last bag of tricks and there were still more fighters coming. There were also several other ships coming from the large cruiser; shuttles, transports, and escape pods. The missiles had done their work. All Cyber could do was watch as the massive ship disintegrated in a gigantic fireball that lit up the blackness of space like a match in the dark.

Cyber knew that his friends may be dead, but perhaps they had gotten away in one of the escape pods. He would have to wait until the Navy rescued all of the pods, and then search for Star and Wulfe.

"Please, God," he prayed," Let them be okay!"

Sean glanced at the rear sensor monitor. He wasn't being followed by any RCN ships. He took a deep breath, then looked into the back of the small shuttle. The captain of the Buck's Antler now lay unconscious on the floor. He had the choice of many options: go home, beg forgiveness, and live the rest of his career as an air traffic controller, kill the captain and head for bluer skies, or submit to fate and set the ship on self destruct.

He had failed his planet, his captain, and his honour. That was a good enough excuse for suicide. He didn't want to return home and be rejected as a failure. But then he got another idea. He dragged the captain into the airlock, slid the thick door shut, and pressed the "Open" button in the cockpit. The captain's body was sucked into space.

Sean sighed again and plotted a course for a distant planet called Bimmisaari. perhaps there he could start a new life, away from the tragedy of the day's defeat.

Wulfe was glad to see his friend again. As Cyber approached, he smiled. He embraced his brother in a big hug, then greeted Star in the same way," Man am I glad you guys are okay. I thought you may have died!"

"Well... none the worse for wear," winced Wulfe, the pain in his shoulder coming back again.

Star helped him up," You'll be okay. The doctors here will fix you right up, then we can return to Titania for your dose of memory potion."

Cyber sat down, then plugged a small laptop computer into his head," I've prepared the access to my brain for you, Star."

"Okay, I'll make sure not to delete anything important," replied Star. She asked Cyber to shut himself down while she removed the location of her base from Cyber's memory. Cyber activated himself a few minutes later, and smiled," Is it done?"

"I dunno? Where's my base big guy?" asked Star.

Cyber's head made the familiar whirring sounds again, then they stopped," I can't find it in my data banks."

"Of course. I am the best!"

Wulfe was still in awe of the massive hanger that sat not too far beneath the surface of Titania. Star was getting a vial of her memory potion, and left Wulfe to admire the place one last time. When she returned, Wulfe looked at her seriously," Are you sure you have to do this?"

"Yes. I can't let people know where my base is, not even you."

"Don't you trust me?"

"I do, but that's no exception. A lot of people I trust don't know the location of this place; not even my own brother."

Wulfe looked around the hanger once more," Alright. I'll take it, but I'm really going to miss this place."

"Well... maybe you'll visit again sometime?"

"Perhaps."

He grabbed the small glass vial and downed the contents. A sudden weariness took over his body and he collapsed on the floor.

He woke a few hours later. He was inside his ship, floating in the middle of the galaxy. He tried to remember what had happened, but it seemed that he had lost track of the past three hours. He remembered Star and Cyberwulfe and the big cruiser that had been attacking Canis. Then there was the nukes, the shooting, and then their capture, their near-death experience, and the kiss. Mmmm, the kiss. Wulfe licked his lips.

He noticed a small light that was flashing on his dash board. He pressed the small green button beside it and watched as words formed across the screen:

Star McCloud's Base
Titania
145 N Longitude
67 W Latitude

"Of course!" he shouted out loud. He had forgotten that he had saved the location of Star's base in his computer right after entering for the first time. He began to wonder whether he should delete it, after all he had given his word. But then again, he only agreed to take the potion so he wouldn't remember the location, there was nothing about not being allowed to save the location or write it down.

Wulfe pressed a button and let his keyboard slide out. After a few minutes of typing the file was saved under "anonymous" and stored in a section deep inside his computer.

"Don't worry, Star," he said out loud," I won't tell anyone."

THE END

"No man is a failure that has friends."
~Clarence, Angel 2nd Class, It's A Wonderful Life

* Starship Titanic is the name of a ship that is the Star Fox (or galactic) equivalent to the actual Titanic, and has no relation to the computer game "Starship Titanic", by Douglas Adams. Produced by Digital Village.

*Author's note* First of all I'd like to thank Kay Twilite for the use of Star McCloud in my story. I hope I have made her as good a character in my story as she is in Kay's stories. As you may have figured out this is the first story featuring myself (Cyberwulfe) as a character. If you would like to read the story of Cyberwulfe you may do so here.

Finally, THE END!!

IN THE LIGHT
by dc Talk

I keep trying to find a life,
On my own apart from you.
I am the king of excuses,
I've got one for every selfish thing I do.

CHORUS

What's going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior.
This only serves to confirm my suspitions,
That I'm still a man in need of a savior.

I wanna be in the light
As you are in the light,
I wanna shine like the stars in the Heavens.
Oh Lord be my light and be my Salvation
'Cause all I want is to be in the light.
All I want is to be in the light.

The disease of self runs through my blood,
It's a cancer fatal to my soul.
Every attempt on my behalf has failed
To bring this sickness under control.

CHORUS

Honesty becomes me (There's nothing left to lose)
The secrets that did run me (In Your presence are defused)
Pride has no position (And riches have no worth)
The fame that once did cover me (Has been sentenced to this earth)
Has been sentenced to this earth.

CHORUS (2nd half sung again)

Characters: Wulfe Litefoot, Cyberwulfe, Sean Grayfield, Jheena Acous

Inanimate objects: V-45 Wolf Wing, V-40 Foxx, Lupine (Mk-1 Ferret Class Arwing), Talon Base, Buck's Antler, Starship Titanic, Canorb 4
Copyrighted to Cyberwulfe
© CW 1998 Inc.

Star McCloud and the Midnight Fox are copyrighted to Kay Twilite
© Kay Twilite

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