THAT ZINC-ING FEELING
The Second Adventure of the Fulva Assault Team
By Cyberwulfe

"My team is mostly made up of Alaskan Malamutes; but their zinc deficiency requires that I feed them a high zinc diet."

-Alaskan sled dog musher, planet Earth

Chinook woke up as his alarm clock sent klaxons ringing through his bedroom. Two thoughts raced through his mind: smash the clock and get some more sleep, or reach over and hit the snooze button. Instead, the young white and charcoal Malamute sat up and got out of bed. Then he picked up his blaster and blew the clock off his bedside table. Only slightly relieved, he yawned and stumbled into the bathroom.

He gasped as he looked in the mirror at the huge cowlick that protruded from his forehead like a wolf's tail. This is no way to impress Jenna! he thought. He watered a comb and tried to flatten the bulge. It popped right back up again. He gave up after several more attempts, then opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out a small box. Inside was a hypodermic needle and a small bottle that contained a highly concentrated zinc solution.

Chinook sighed, as he often did each morning. His zinc deficiency didn't pose a large problem, as long as he had his daily injection. he shuddered as the list of symptoms ran through his head; symptoms he would have if he didn't get his daily dose of zinc. He flexed his arm, found a vein, and drove the point of the needle into it. The milky liquid flowed through the stainless steel tip and directly into his bloodstream.

The doorbell buzzed. Chinook rolled his sleeve back over his arm and walked to the door. It was Jenna.

"I detected a laser shot in your quarters," she gasped, out of breath from running down the hall," Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just got mad at my alarm clock and fried it," replied Chinook, flashing one of his charming tooth-filled smiles.

Chinook had had a crush on Jenna since she joined the team three months ago. It was almost eight months since Nikki, the wing leader's girlfriend, had been murdered in a jet that had been rigged to explode, so Jenna had been hired as a replacement. She, along with Wes Ogden, an arctic fox, Jesse Bobcat, Frieze Acirfa, a mongoose, Jeremy Fisher, a raccoon, and Chinook Aksala, made up the Fulva Assault Team, the protectors of the Royal House of Corneria. They were the top squadron in all of the Royal Air Defense Squadron.

Chinook didn't really care that Jenna was a husky as well as two years younger than him, he just thought that she was a very beautiful and talented individual. Getting into the RADS wasn't easy, and Jenna was picked out of a possible sixty-four cadets. Chinook, after reviewing her credentials (as well as her measurements) wasted no time in making his decision. The others voted unanimously and Jenna arrived with her duffel bags a few days later.

The two Canines had developed a strong friendship, and Chinook hoped that one day they could be much more than just friends. He had never formally asked Jenna on a date, but he had invited her to several fancy banquets that involved some high-ranking military officers and a large sum of money that was to be donated to the RADS. Her knowledge of medicine made her a good person to have around, always asking," Have you had your injection today, Chinook?" The rest of the team often agreed that Jenna took very good care of him, much to the embarrassment of Chinook himself.

"Oh," said Jenna," Well, if it's nothing serious then I'll leave you to your mess." She smiled and began to walk away, her bushy tail moving back and forth with each stride.

Chinook decided to take a shot in the dark," Um... Jenna, would you like some breakfast?"

Jenna turned and smiled again," I'd love some, 'Nook."

Deep inside the command center of an old abandoned base, several hundred kilometers from New Dunkirk, a group of shadowy figures chatted among the flashing lights and red tactical monitors. Their plan was to try to pull off what many had tried but all had failed to do: take over Corneria.

"We need high altitude tactical bombers!" shouted one.

"Our fighters can take on anything that Corneria sends against us!" replied another.

"Everyone else has tried to attack from the outside. We need undercover espionage attacks! Plant some plastic explosives!" added the third. He rubbed his hands together and drooled at the very thought of C-4.

The near silence of the room was shattered by a high pitched scream," Hi boys, it's me!"

One of the figures rolled his eyes.

"Hello Raoul," said the leader of the three. Self-Appointed Admiral Xun was no fool when it came to hiring bodyguards, and this poor excuse for a hyena may have had the most annoying voice of anyone (next to Slippy Toad!), but his marksmanship and fighting ability was unsurpassed. `But why did he have to carry around that stupid purse?!' thought Xun.

"Major Raoul LaFool reporting in," the skinny screecher continued.

"What have you to report, Major?" asked the second-in-command, a gray jackal General. named Afgoon who had an obsession with blowing things up.

Raoul cleared his throat as if it would succeed in changing the sound of his voice, but he nevertheless carried on," A full wing of fighters is ready. Our radar system is okay and has been scanning for ten minutes now."

"Excellent! It works as expected?"

Raoul just nodded energetically.

Xun smiled," No matter how stealthy or high-tech the Cornerian fighters may be, we can detect them as far away as fifty kilometers; just as I hoped. Once we take over the largest planet in Lylat, second perhaps to Venom, we can form a massive military and with our Venomian allies spread throughout the system we will be able to take over all of Lylat."

"But we'll have to get rid of the Royal Air Defense Squadron, specifically the Fulva Assault Team. Then we'll have to defeat the Mustela Defense Team. I hope our fighters can handle them," said the third (and so far unintroduced) officer, Commander Geovani. A Siberian Husky with more interest in owning a big fancy house on his own planet than plotting to kill thousands of innocents. He was in charge of the Venomians' fighters.

Xun patted Raoul on the shoulder," Major, access the Cornerian database and find out all you can about these guys. They've got to have a weakness!"

Raoul saluted and sat at a nearby computer terminal, hanging his purse on the chair before he sat down. Xun shook his head again and went back to his favorite hobby: plotting evil.

"And then," laughed Chinook," Wes starts dancing on the table. Then Jesse shouts out `Hey idiot! Why don't you just take your clothes off!!' and Wes says `Well... I just might!'"

Jenna laughed," I'm sure Nikki just loved that!"

"She told him that he'd better not and then stormed out. Boy was she mad."

"Well I would too if my boyfriend was about to give a free table dance to everyone in the bar," replied Jenna.

She too had a hidden crush, but she was an old fashioned kind of girl, waiting for the guy to make the first move. She was certain that one day soon Chinook would phone her and ask her on a date, preferably something more exciting than those nasty banquets. But this breakfast would have to do for now.

"Hey, those aren't as great as they sound. It's kind of degrading. I can't imagine what would make someone want to flash their body around for money!" said Chinook. He took another sip of coffee.

Yeah! Go Chinook! I guess he's not such a pig after all, thought Jenna," And then there were the murders?"

"Yes. My friend Clyde was killed in his room. He was a swell guy! Nikki's was the worse, though. I was there. I had just said bye to her before she taxied out onto the runway. Then as she accelerated the jet exploded. There was nothing anyone could have done."

"I heard the jet was rigged," said Jenna, taking another mouthful of Chinook's lovely fried eggs.

"Yes. Luckily we caught the group of assassins and their boss was killed in the asteroid field. He should hire a new navigator; maneuvering the A-Field was one of my first training exercises," scoffed Chinook.

Jenna recalled her own experience with the so-called A-Field.

The doorbell buzzed again. Chinook excused himself and greeted Frieze, the mongoose member of the Fulva Assault Team. She carried a sweet smelling package under one arm.

Frieze and Chinook were good friends. They had an inseparable bond between that went deeper than anything that Chinook now had with Jenna. She had followed him through the darkest parts of town on his mad quest to find Clyde's murderers.

"Hi 'Nook. What's up?" she piped. She was always in a good mood about everything, even in a tough dogfight, which made her an essential part of the team.

"Not much, I was just having breakfast," replied Chinook, motioning towards the kitchen where Jenna was sitting.

"Oh! I didn't know you had company. I'll come by another time," smiled Frieze.

Before Chinook could object she was scurrying down the hall. He looked back at Jenna and said jokingly," You scared her away, and she had her wonderful breakfast loaf!"

"I'm sorry Mr. Aksala! I'll just take off then!" said Jenna.

"I was only joking. You didn't have to take it that way."

"I know, but I wanted to hear it from you." I want to hear something else from you too!

Raoul's fingers danced across the keyboard like a spider spinning a web. He had the printer burning red hot with sheets flying in every direction. Every time he found some hot information about either of the two opposing teams he would hit the print button and the Sonic-Boom laser printer would have the entire article printed in three seconds flat. So far he had learned that the Fulva Assault Team was based in New Dunkirk. Their leader was named Wes Ogden and he was a topnotch pilot. The rest of the team didn't have much going for them except the one named Chinook Alsala.

"Hmmm," thought Raoul," A zinc deficiency. It would be a shame if he was deprived of that precious stuff and acquired anemia." He giggled. he recalled another victim that was locked up in one of Raoul's cells. She had developed anemia and soon became pale. She was so weak that she could barely stand, and her dizziness got worse every day. Raoul enjoyed letting her suffer until he was ordered to execute her. He highlighted the article and set it on top of a file folder.

Commander Geovani, third-highest ranking officer in the Outer Circle of Venom, was reviewing the articles printed out by the crazy Major. He agreed with the freak's plan to capture Aksala in order to get at the rest of the team, and spent a great deal of time on that article. But another article he spent even more time on was the file on Jenna Shelzysibe. She was HOT!! He read her article over and over and stared at the colour printout of her registration photo. If only she could be his. She could! After the rest of the team was captured he would make her his personal love slave.

Admiral Xun entered Geovani's room. The black-furred jackal put his hands on Geovani's desk and ordered a report.

"Well, sir... I agree with Major LeFool's plan to capture Lieutenant Aksala and deprive him of zinc so that the rest of the team has no choice but to either surrender or attempt a rescue. Either way they will be captured or killed," said Geovani.

"Good. And what about the Mustela Team?" asked Xun.

"They fit into my plan as well. Who else would Corneria send to rescue their best fighter squadron than another of the best. Mustela will go down in flames."

"Perfect! I love the way you think, Commander. Keep this up and you'll make your way to General soon enough."

"I have another idea Admiral," said Geovani. He picked up the photo and article about Jenna.

The Fulva Assault Team gathered in General Pepper's office. He had called them in to introduce them to a new trainee that would be under their personal supervision.

"Geovani here just arrived from Titania. He is a good pilot and all of his references check out. He has requested to join the RADS so I hope you don't mind showing him the ropes," said Pepper.

"Of course not, sir," replied Wes," Welcome to the team."

He extended his paw to Geovani who took it and shook it firmly. These are the saps that I'm supposed to kill? he asked himself, And there she is! Jenna stood at the end of the line next to Chinook. Good, there's Aksala.

He moved down the line and shook paws with the rest of the team, then he met face to face with Jenna," A pleasure!" grinned Geovani.

"Sure," smiled Jenna, her handshake warm and gentle.

Chinook simmered a little but thought that it must be a thing among the breeds, for the two were one and the same.

The first order of business was to introduce Geovani to the fighters of the squadron. The team each flew the new XVR-7 Lupus Class Arwing. It was designed rather uniquely from other Arwings in that when All-Range Mode was enabled the wings would swing up vertical to the hull and then open into an X formation. With a laser cannon on the tip of each wing it allowed a wide range of fire. It also had a massive warhead capacity; the favored load was usually Nova bombs.

Geovani seemed unimpressed with the latest fighter in the Lylat system. He thought that the RADS was getting big headed. After viewing the performance specifications he mentally compared them to those of his own fighters - the Arwings didn't stand a chance.

He paid more attention to Jenna than to the ships. She was a brilliant rusty colour that rivaled Solar itself. She was always smiling and had a very cheery nature about her. He remembered that in her personnel file it said that she was an excellent fighter, which meant that her calm demeanor was merely a mask. He plotted many ways in which to get in her good graces. He thought of asking her to dinner, or taking her to a beautiful lookout point, or... no. She'd never be interested in him. She was too nice.

Geovani scowled. Chinook leaned closer to Jenna and smiled. She looked back and laughed. He had obviously said something funny, but Geovani wasn't laughing. Chinook would have to be removed; and soon!

Jenna opened the door. It was early in he evening and she wasn't expecting any visitors. Geovani looked up and smiled at her," Good evening, Jenna," he began," Are you busy?"

"Um, not really," replied Jenna," Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you'd join me for dinner?"

Jenna blushed and smiled. Not even Chinook had ever been so direct, and she'd known him much longer than Geovani. He seemed like a nice guy, but she'd only known him for a day now.

"I don't know. We've only just met," replied Jenna.

Geovani's ears drooped," So it's no, then?"

"Well, I'm sure we can work something out."

"I knew that Geovani guy was a creep from the first second I saw him with Jenna!"

- Lieutenant Chinook Aksala, Fulva Assault Team

Chinook was eating in a small restaurant that was a common eating place of the Fulva Assault Team. They would meet after missions to go over what happened and what could have been done better, or just to hang out and get something to snack on. Chinook was enjoying a hamburger with fries and a root beer. Since he and the team had celebrity status, from when they saved the life of the Prince from a sniper, Chinook's meals were paid for by the RADS.

He was about to take another bite of his burger when Geovani and Jenna arrived. Chinook nearly choked on the meat.

"Hey 'Nook!" greeted Jenna," Mind if we join you?"

"Of course not. Have a seat," replied Chinook after managing to swallow the big chunk.

Jenna sat next to her old friend, with Geovani on her right. Chinook nodded to him and Geovani returned the nod. Inside he was burning up. Why did he have to be here? he asked himself, I was going to have Jenna all to myself! At least he's nearly finished his dinner!

"What's your pleasure?" asked a waitress to the two huskies.

"I'll have a small pepperoni pizza with a creme soda," replied Jenna.

"Some chicken soup, nothing to drink please," said Geovani.

"I'll have another root beer," said Chinook.

"Okay folks, I'll be right back," said the waitress. She disappeared into the kitchen behind the counter.

Dang! Now he'll stick around until he's done his next drink! cursed Geovani.

"So, what are you guys doing out here?" asked Chinook.

"Well, Geovani invited me to dinner. I thought he might like to see where the rest of the team hangs out," replied Jenna.

Preferably without the rest of the team! thought Geovani.

"Oh really?" asked Chinook. He now viewed Geovani as a bogey intruding on friendly territory. He'd have to shoot him down. But he doubted that anything serious would develop. He'd show Jenna that he was the gentlepooch, and not that Geovani character!

"Yes. I thought she might like to get out on such a lovely night," added Geovani.

"It is nice," said Jenna," I bet we could see the stars tonight. It's meteor season. I remember seeing at least thirty last year. Do you remember, 'Nook?"

Chinook just nodded his head. His mouth was full of root beer. The waitress came out with a small pizza, a steaming bowl of soup, and two cold glasses of soda pop.

"There ya go. Same deal, just leave a copy of the bill with your big guys and they'll pay up," said the waitress," Enjoy!"

"Thanks," said Jenna.

Geovani grabbed his spoon and dipped it into the hot soup. He pulled it out and smiled at the big chunks of meat and long sloppy noodles. He hadn't had good soup in a long time, and the food at the base wasn't fit for rats!

He slid the spoon into his mouth. His cheeks puffed out and he grabbed Jenna's cream soda and chugged half of the glass in one gulp.

"Aaahhhh!" he screamed," Ouch! My tongue!"

"Kind of hot, is it?" giggled Jenna.

Chinook was roaring. It was hilarious, but then he remembered his manners. He wanted to impress Jenna.

"Here Jenna, you can have my root beer. I have to go anyway," said Chinook.

"Thanks. We'll see you later," replied Jenna.

Yeah, much later! grumbled Geovani.

Jenna walked beside Geovani in the park. The path lights were on, but the park was still in darkness. Jenna remembered last year when she just lay on the grass and watched as the blue meteors burned their way through the atmosphere. She looked up in time to see one.

"Did you see it?" she asked.

Geovani looked up," No. I missed that one."

"Let's lay down on the grass. They're easier to see when you have a good view of the sky."

The two huskies walked to the center of a big grassy field and then Jenna plopped down on the grass. Geovani lay right next to her and put his hands behind his head. It wasn't long before a second meteor flew across the sky.

"Woah! That was a big one!" exclaimed Geovani.

"Wasn't it?!" gasped Jenna," I remember once there was a huge one that shot across the entire sky. If there were no lights it wouldn't have made a difference because it was so bright."

Geovani smiled and looked at Jenna. He was looking at something more beautiful than the bits of space rock burning in Corneria's atmosphere, something brighter than light. Her blue eyes shaming the small meteors. He moved closer and tried kiss her. She gasped and pushed him away.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" shouted Jenna. She got up and glared down at him.

"Jenna, I'm sorry. I just..." stammered Geovani.

"I know what you were trying to do. I'm not that interested, buddy!"

"It's not what you think."

"It sure looked like it! I'm going home. See you tomorrow!"

Jenna turned and stormed out of the park, leaving Geovani to lay on the grass with himself, wishing he'd never been so quick with her.

Chinook yawned. It was the beginning of another crappy day. The rain had started early in the morning and now came down in buckets. He called the rest of the team and invited them over for breakfast, but failed to remember Geovani. Or perhaps he didn't want him in his apartment... with Jenna.

Jenna came after Jesse and Frieze had arrived. She looked kind of upset and searched the room nervously. Then she sat at the counter next to Chinook, who was watching the eggs.

"'Nook," she said.

"Yeah, Jen. What is it? You look you didn't get any sleep last night," said Chinook.

"I barely did. Look, after you left, Geovani and I went to the park to watch the meteors and...," she sighed nervously," He tried to take advantage of me!"

"What?!" Chinook half shouted," I'm gonna kill that guy!"

Jenna put her hand on his arm," No. I told him off and I think he got the message. I just want you to know I'm okay."

"But are you always going to be okay?"

"Hey, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

Chinook smiled. He knew that Jenna was a good fighter, but was also very careful to avoid situations were a fight may occur.

Chinook smelled something nasty," Oh shoot! The eggs!"

The frying pan had flames coming out of it. Chinook turned off the burner and dumped baking soda on the eggs to extinguish the flames.

"So much for breakfast!" joked Jesse. The commotion had attracted the attention of the others.

"Anyone for take-out?" asked Frieze.

Geovani connected his satellite transmitter unit and pointed it towards the secret base. With this setup he would be able to report in without the nosy Cornerians listening in. He adjusted the dish slightly and then flicked on the power switch. There was a bit of static, but that soon disappeared after a few adjustments.

"This is Commander Geovani calling in. Respond," he said.

The reply came in a few seconds," We read you Commander. Report." came the reply. A stumpy bear Lieutenant that Geovani knew well.

"Bill, I need you to tell the Admiral that things are going a little slow, and I'll submit a formal report tomorrow afternoon."

"Very well, sir. Bill out."

There was a click at the other end as the transmission was cut off. There was much planning to do, and an open transmission may block or scramble more important messages. Geovani sighed. He had to report to the RADS in three hours... and then face Jenna again. After what had happened the night before, it was something that he wasn't really looking forward to.

He dressed in his slick, blue pilot's uniform and adjusted the blaster hanging from his belt. One good thing about joining the military is that, like with cops, you were allowed to carry firearms around. Geovani stepped out of his apartment and began to walk down the hall. He could hear a lot of noise from down the hall. It originated from inside Chinook's room. Curious, Geovani knocked on the door. Of course, Chinook answered it.

"What do you want?" he half growled.

"I heard all of the noise and I was just curious," Geovani said nervously.

"Just as curious as you were to see how far Jenna was willing to go last night?" Chinook was getting angry now.

"Oh, I guess you know about that, huh?"

"Yeah. You know, I hate it when people don't treat Jenna with respect. She's a really nice person. Very nice! And when someone like you comes along and ruins it for her, then that just makes me mad!"

Geovani gulped," Well. Enjoy your party. See you in three hours."

The door slammed shut. Geovani sighed and shuffled down the hall.

The pilots were lined up again. Today was their first Furball Melee. Each pilot would be fighting against the whole team. The winner would be the one left after ten minutes. Chinook licked his lips. He saw two perfect opportunities here: to impress Jenna again, and also to send Geovani down in flames. Too bad they'd just be using lightly powered targeting lasers. He'd rather shoot down the husky for real!

As they boarded their aircraft, Geovani approached Jenna.

"I'm very sorry for what happened last night," he apologized.

"So am I," said Jenna, still offended and angry at him.

"Can we start over? Will you give me another chance?"

"I'll think about it," then she got an idea," Tell you what. If you finish in the top three then I might consider it."

"You got it, beautiful!"

"Don't push your luck, buddy!"

Geovani just smiled and waved as he ran to his ship. The new fighter, an XVR-7 Lupus-Class Arwing, was large in comparison to his own fighter, and it packed a lot of firepower. It was armed with four standard laser cannons and a Nova Bomb launcher that could carry seven bombs. But the most extraordinary thing about the fighter was its deflector shield generator. For every nine hits that the shields took the shield would absorb three and use it to power its own lasers and shields. This allowed the fighter to last longer in combat.

"Perhaps they do stand a chance after all," said Geovani.

The six Arwings lifted off the ground and flew to their starting points, with the fighters three kilometers away from each other. Geovani targeted the nearest ship and flew to intercept. It was Frieze. She was a good pilot, or at least that's what her record had stated. Now Geovani wished to see for himself. She came right at him with her lasers firing, but then pulled away at a distance of forty meters. Geovani slowed his fighter and followed the other fighter. Frieze dipped and turned but could not shake him of her tail. Then Geovani experienced how useful the Arwing's somersault was. Frieze soon found herself on Geovani's tail, and she took this chance to get some payback.

Geovani cursed as his shield power dropped. He was almost dead. He then tried his own somersault and ended up on Frieze's tail. She lost shields and had to abort.

"One fighter down," he said out loud.

The Geovani's eyes widened. The nearest target was Chinook, and he was coming in at full speed. The other Arwing buzzed past, barely scraping the paint of Geovani's Arwing.

"Oh, so it's going to be like that, huh?!" exclaimed Geovani.

He tried to get on Chinook's tail, but the faster, more experienced pilot kept firing at him and then zoomed past. A quick look at his shield gauge made Geovani wished that he hadn't. It read 22%. He need a trick and fast. He waited until Chinook was passing behind him and then he pulled the U-turn lever. The Arwing flipped upside-down and shot in the opposite direction.

"A perfect U-ey!" smiled Geovani. Chinook was now in his sights.

"Oh no you don't!" exclaimed Chinook, realizing the trick that Geovani had pulled. He sent his ship into a barrel-roll, deflecting most of the laser shots, and then pulled a U-ey himself. The two fighters were coming right at each other.

"So, you wanna play chicken, eh?" shouted Geovani.

The two Arwings came right at each other. Chinook, trusting his shields to protect him, decided not to get out of the way. It was his mistake. Geovani kept shooting and Chinook was kicked out of the melee.

Three other fighters were left: Jesse, Wes, and Jenna. Geovani didn't have the heart to target Jenna, so he decided to break up the dogfight between Wes and Jesse. The two pilots, who were the best on the team, had been going at it since the melee had started, with neither gaining an advantage for more than a minute. Geovani targeted Jesse and waited for a lock. He fired, and Jesse soon found himself under attack from two sides. He barrel-rolled and tried to turn sharply to the left, but it was too late. He was eliminated.

Now Geovani found himself under attack. The team leader, Wes, was firing at him. Geovani was too slow as well and was eliminated. Jenna fought with Wes for a few minutes but was also defeated.

Afterwards Geovani went to talk with Jenna. She was drinking water from a clear plastic bottle and dabbing her face and neck with a towel.

"Some fun, huh?" she gasped. She took another gulp of water.

"Yeah. So, did I impress? Huh?" he smiled and held his arms out to his side as if to say `Take me!'.

"Well, you did finish third. I suppose I could give you another chance. As long as you take me some place nice," she giggled.

"Sure. Where would you like to go?"

Geovani was sitting at his desk in his quarters, writing notes in a book, when the doorbell rang. He got up and opened the door. It was Chinook.

"Hello," greeted Geovani.

Chinook just walked inside and turned with his arms crossed," I want to tell you a few things about Jenna," he said sternly.

"What can you tell me that she hasn't already told me? We had quite a long chat after dinner last night," Geovani replied, adding emphasis to the word "dinner" to annoy Chinook.

"Jenna is my friend; one of my best friends. You'd better not try another stunt like you did the other day. If you hurt her and I find out, you'd better get back to where you came from... fast!"

"What makes you think we haven't done anything already?"

Chinook growled.

"Oh not to worry. She's safe at home as we speak. I'm much nicer the second time around, but I think you're a bit uptight about something. A drink perhaps?"

Chinook unfolded his arms," What's your fancy?"

"Oh I don't really care. Let's just have something light," Geovani opened a cupboard to reveal several liquor bottles of different sizes and colours," Titania Nectar Wine? Hmmm?"

"Sure," Chinook wondered where in all of Titania they'd have enough moisture to make even a small glass of wine, never mind a whole bottle.

Geovani pulled down two glasses and filled them both with the green liquid. The he reached into a drawer and poured a blue liquid into one of them. After stirring the contents the wine returned to its original colour.

"To Jenna then. May the best dog win!" said Geovani. They clinked their glasses and each took a drink.

"That was pretty good," said Chinook," Maybe I'll have another glass."

"Not too much. It's actually quite bad for your health," cautioned Geovani.

Chinook just nodded and took another sip. He gasped and swallowed. It was like fire in his throat. He sat down and coughed," Woah! That *cough*... that was.. *hack*... smooth!"

"See, I tried to warn you."

Chinook's eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed on the floor.

"Fool." Geovani dragged Chinook into a small room and tied him up. His next job was to report in and gain transport back to base. Soon he would have the whole team as helpless as Chinook and Jenna would be his forever.

Four men dressed in black grabbed the lumpy sack and tossed it onto the shuttle. Once Geovani was on board they took off and flew towards their secret base. Chinook had been given more drugs to keep him unconscious during the trip, and by putting him in a duffel bag they managed to get him out of Corneria without any suspicions. The landing, pickup, and takeoff took two minutes, and everything was going smoothly.

"All we need to do is call the RADS in a few days and order them to surrender. Otherwise their friend here will meet an... untimely demise!" said Geovani.

"Think they'll really give up that easily, sir?" asked one of the black figures.

"No. But I'll be sure to greet them in the sky if they try to rescue him."

Geovani would center out Jenna and make sure that she was taken down quickly and carefully. Then he would destroy the others, taking Jenna captive.

"This one shouldn't give us any trouble. He's got enough drugs in him to keep an elephant out for a week!"

The rest of the group laughed. They nudged the sack with their feet, then with harder kicks. Geovani stopped them. They would have their fun soon enough.

"You're sure?" asked Wes. He was worried about Chinook as much as Frieze was.

"Yes. I even checked the laundry room. He's not anywhere," replied the frantic mongoose.

Wes looked thoughtfully at the floor," Well he's got to be somewhere. You go check some of the restaurants while I round up the rest of the gang."

"Right!"

Wes ran down the hall to Jenna's room and rang the doorbell. After a few moments Jenna came to the door.

"Hey Wes," she yawned," Sorry. What's up?"

"Have you seen Chinook lately?" asked Wes.

"Not since the other day. Why?"

"He's missing. We were going to go see that new movie but now we can't find him."

Jenna placed her hand to her chin and looked around, trying to think of something. She motioned for Wes to come inside and then sat in a chair in her living room.

"Chinook has been acting really weird even since that guy Geovani came here. I think that he's jealous or something?"

"Jealous of what?" asked Wes. He sat in another chair.

"Come on, Wes. I think you know that 'Nook has a crush on me!"

Wes smiled and looked at the floor. He had promised Chinook that he would never tell Jenna, but the cat was finally out of the bag.

"So now that Geovani has taken me out twice I'm afraid that Chinook may have gone and done something awful."

"Like what?"

"Nothing like suicide... I hope! But maybe he just had to get away for a few days. I think we should just wait and see if he comes back. In the meantime, I'll check with the RADS and see if he requested a few days off."

"Okay. Thanks Jen," said Wes. He got up to leave.

"No problem," she opened the door for him," And Wes..."

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell 'Nook that I know."

"Sure."

Chinook woke up and looked around the small room. He was chained to the wall and was propped up by a small chair. Unfortunately the chains weren't long enough to allow him to sit down, so Chinook brought his legs up onto the chair and satisfied himself with a squat.

A guard walked by and looked into the room, which was sealed with a barred door. The guard grinned and picked up a comlink," He's awake, sir."

Chinook could hear a faint," Excellent. I'll be right there."

A few minutes later an officer dressed in a blue suit came down a visible flight of stairs and stood in front of the bars. Chinook's hair stood on-end and he growled. It was Geovani.

"Well well well! I'm sorry that the decor isn't to your liking, but you know cell decorators these days. So picky about their cobwebs being placed just right. And the dripping pipe is a nice touch too," Geovani nodded towards the pipe which was located directly above Chinook's head.

Chinook now realized that his head was totally soaked, and it stunk like skunk," I'll kill you when I get out!"

"If you ever do. I seriously doubt it," he held up a file folder," Do you know what this is? It's your personal history. Very interesting... born on Canis... moved to Corneria to join the Cornerian Army Air Force... showed great promise. Joined the Royal Air Defense Squadron... very impressive. Oh, what's this? A zinc deficiency? But we're all out of zinc at the moment, darn it! I guess you'll have to go for a while without your daily injection. Do you suppose you could handle it, hmm?"

"Only you would do this, Geovani! Why?"

"It's very simple, even you could understand it. You see, our goal is to take over Corneria. Of course everyone wants to do that, but nobody ever had a really good plan on how to do it. By eliminating the defenses first, from the inside, we will leave this planet defenseless. You are the key to destroying the RADS. Your friends will know of your plight soon, and I'm sure that they will rush to save you."

Chinook growled," With a wing of fighters!"

"Sadly, they will not live. You see, we have very special detection equipment that can pick up an incoming fighter from seventy kilometers away, giving us plenty of time to get ready for them. And if they happen to send out some high-tech stealth fighters, well then our sensors can pick them up as far away as fifty kilometers. So you see, 'Nook, we'll always win."

Geovani laughed and walked up the stairs.

"We'll stop you! They'll stop you, if not me! I'll kill you myself! You hear me!" shouted Chinook. But Geovani was already gone.

General Pepper paced in his office; the Fulva Assault team waited anxiously to hear his decision," I'm not sure what to make of it," the general finally said," If he's gone off somewhere by himself he certainly didn't inform me of it."

"None of us were notified either, General. And we're his best friends. I think he'd at least leave a hint or a note or something?" said Wes.

"When was the last time you saw him?" asked Pepper, trying to get all the facts straight.

"Just after the last melee. We were dismissed and he took off," replied Frieze.

"I think he needed to blow off some steam," said Jesse.

The others looked at him.

"Well, he was really mad at that new guy. Not that I blame him; everything about that guy creeps me out!"

"Speaking of which, where is Geovani?" asked Wes.

"I saw him just the other night. We had a... uh, date," said Jenna, a bit embarrassed.

Frieze didn't want to give away any personal details about Chinook's life, but she knew that he loved Jenna, and when Geovani came along it was like another rooster in the hen house. Frieze just made her own assumptions and listened to the rest of the conversation.

"You don't suppose Geovani got rid of Chinook in order to get more time with you, Jenna?" asked Jeremy.

Frieze smiled. She didn't have to worry about spilling the beans; someone just did it for her.

"What!?" gasped Jenna.

"Well it was only an idea," said Jeremy. He slumped farther down in his chair.

Wes got out of his seat and walked over to the window," Have there been any unauthorized ships in the spaceport lately?"

"Nope, none. Well, nothing suspicious anyway," replied Frieze.

Wes rubbed his chin and flicked his tail, indicating his frustration. He had no idea where Chinook had gone, or Geovani either. It was as if they had both just disappeared.

"Well they've got to be somewhere!" exclaimed Jenna.

Chinook screamed as the shock phaser was once again shoved against his arm. The smell of burning fur reeked, and Chinook couldn't take it anymore. He tried to strike Raoul with his fist, but the chains held him back.

"Hee hee hee! I don't think so! Those chains will hold you there!" laughed Raoul.

Chinook had enough slack in his ankle chains to kick Raoul. The hyena stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. Two nearby guards laughed to each other.

"Ooh! That's it! I'll hit you with my purse!" screamed Raoul.

He picked up the brown bag by its straps and took a step closer to Chinook.

"Oh no, lady! Not your purse," smiled Chinook. Is this guy serious? he thought.

His answer came as the brick-laden purse smacked across his face. The shock knocked Chinook out cold. His head lay limp.

"That's what you get!" laughed Raoul.

The two guards were now watching Raoul again as he smacked the unconscious malamute again.

"Where does he get this stuff?" asked the first guard.

"I dunno, and what the heck is that purse! Is he some kind of queer?" asked the second guard.

"Yeah! A queer!" they both laughed.

Raoul overheard their conversation and approached them with his purse in hand," Why are you talking about me? I'll kick your butts!"

"Oh no!" laughed the first guard. The two of them almost fell over laughing.

They too felt the pain of Raoul's favorite tool for torturing his victims. He left the two guards to moan and bleed on the dungeon floor and returned to his post in the command room.

Geovani decided it was time to send the ransom message to the RADS. He routed the communications equipment through several satellites to make sure he couldn't be traced and then dialed the number.

Wes grabbed the phone as soon as it rang," Chinook?"

"No," said the voice form the other end," Guess again!"

"Geovani!" shouted Wes.

The others in the squadron jumped out of their seats and ran to the phone.

"Where is he!" shouted Jenna.

"What have you done to Chinook?" added Frieze.

"I'm gonna kill you, you little..." exclaimed Jesse.

"Shut up! All of you, and listen," said Geovani," Switch to visual."

Wes pressed a button on the phone console and the image of Geovani appeared on the large viewer. He was dressed differently than the last time they had seen him. He was dressed in an olive green uniform and he wore the insignia of a Venomian Commander.

"You traitor!" shouted Wes.

"I was never a part of your pitiful little band, so technically I'm not a traitor," replied Geovani," And I have the answers to your questions, but I'll only talk to Jenna."

Jenna stepped up," Okay, where's Chinook you slime!?"

"Temper temper! I have him here, and yes he is alive."

"For how long?" asked Jenna.

Geovani flashed an evil smile," That depends on you five."

"How's that!?" demanded Jesse.

Geovani glared at the bobcat and continued," I am aware of his situation regarding zinc. I am currently denying him of the substance. I am also aware of the nasty side effects that result from prolonged time without zinc. He's in pretty nasty shape right now"

"How could you!?" shouted Jenna.

"What do you want, Geovani?" asked Wes sternly.

"Why you of course. Dead unfortunately, but Jenna will stay with me."

"I'd rather die with Chinook!" screamed Jenna.

"As much as I'd like to arrange that I'm afraid my conscience would prevent me from it. In case you haven't figured it out I'm madly in love with you. It was so easy to get to the team through you, and when Chinook confronted me about you and I together I took the perfect opportunity to remove him."

About me? thought Jenna, That means that Chinook really does love me!

Frieze grabbed Jeremy and pulled him away from the conversation," Jer, see if you can hack in and trace his call."

"Good idea, Frieze!" exclaimed Jeremy.

Jeremy was the computer genius of the team, which made him a valuable asset. He plugged his laptop into the jack on the side of the phone console, out of view of Geovani, and began tracing the call.

"He's got it routed through several satellites all over Corneria," he whispered to Frieze.

"Can you still find him?"

"Give me a few seconds. This decoder is the newest on the market, and modified by me of course!"

Frieze nodded. She knew that Jeremy couldn't buy anything without customizing it to suit his needs.

"I will call you again in two days. That should give you enough time to surrender. If not then I expect a good fight, because I know how nasty you guys could turn out after Chinook dies."

With that last line the transmission ended. Jeremy slapped the floor and screamed," Crap! If only I'd had a few more seconds!"

"You'll have all the time in the world, Jer; in two days."

"Your friends are coming," said Geovani.

Chinook hung from his chains, feeling weak from lack of zinc," You're really sick to put me through this! Why not just kill me?"

"You're the ace up my sleeve, 'Nook," smiled Geovani," Besides, Jenna now knows how you feel about her. She will drive the team into coming to rescue you. That is where they will either die in a dogfight, or be captured after crashing."

"You underestimate our new fighters."

"My own fighters could wipe out your pitiful XVR-7's! I even compared them while I was at your base."

"There's no way you could stop the entire Cornerian Army. Even you're not that powerful."

"You'd be surprised. I also have a large Venom fleet awaiting the word from me to attack. With the army busy with this small outpost and Star Fox away then I think there is a good chance for us to take over the planet."

Chinook shook his head. His mouth was dry and he tried to create saliva, but it was too hard. It was like his mouth was a small version of Titania; empty and moistureless. It had been days since they had fed him, from fear of adding even the slightest bit of zinc to his body. He could feel his body getting weaker every day.

His only hope was rescue, but the odds seemed hopelessly stacked against the team. He had to have faith though. They had come out of worse situations before.

"We must go in as soon as Jeremy locks down their location!" said Jesse.

"I agree with you, but we should send some troops in for backup," replied Pepper.

Jesse punched the wall and glared at the General. He was too held back by politics and proper military strategy. These things had never really mattered to Jesse. He had spent several years of his life as a mercenary, but then decided to join something that would pay better and fight for a real cause. It didn't get better than the elite forces of the Royal Air Defense Squadron.

He would listen to Wes, though. They were good friends, and they had been through a lot together. After the last great Venomian offensive a few months ago Jesse was sure that they could take on anything. But this was a different problem. The Venomians made a lot of mistakes, and one of them was the Kismet. The Kismet was a huge, supposedly indestructible battleship. But even the most powerful weapons have weaknesses, and the Kismet was eventually sent down in flames.

"We can launch as soon as the message is traced. You can send the army in after us if you want, but it's us he's after," said Wes.

"I know. But I can't just assemble a force from nothing and send them into battle," complained Pepper.

"I know someone who you can send in," said Frieze.

"Who?" asked Pepper.

The rest of the team was curious as well. They had no idea Frieze had connections in the Cornerian Army.

The two mongooses embraced each other in a friendly hug. Frieze had called her old friend Carrie Joubaan to help them. Carrie was part of the squadron known as the Mustela Team. Their leader, a calm, good-looking ferret, was named Jane Augusta. She had led the team for a while and the rest of the team respected her leadership skills, especially Carrie who was unquestionably loyal.

The team had arrived several hours after being notified by Frieze. After a short reunion of friends they all gathered in Pepper's office for a meeting.

"My plan is, as soon as Jeremy finds out where their base is, for all of us to fly in and attempt to penetrate their defenses. Once we're in we'll locate Chinook and Jenna will fix him up with some zinc," Wes started the meeting straight to the point.

Jenna grinned. She knew that her medical knowledge would be important, and she had a highly concentrated batch of zinc formula prepared for the second they located Chinook.

"Once we get out," continued Wes," We'll radio you guys and tell you to attack the base. Once they're destroyed then we can send in a small platoon of troops to secure whatever is left."

"How do you expect us to get in after their alarms have been raised. I think they'll know you're there after you get in and out," said Kevin Grands, a nasty-looking Akita with a bad attitude towards mostly everything.

"We're giving each of you a stealth fighter to fly. They were captured a few years ago by General Pepper and they can hide from any type of radar or sensors," replied Wes.

Kevin's brother, Kyle, nodded. Unlike his brother Kevin, Kyle was kind and good-natured. He liked the idea of flying in undetected and making a quick hit-and-fade strike.

"Where do the troops come from?" asked Jane.

"General Pepper was able to scrounge up sixty troops for the mission. They'll be armed and ready to go as soon as we get back. If all goes well we'll be taking off by the time you start your attack, and back to base by the time their outpost is destroyed. As you make your way back you can escort the troop carrier to the outpost and oversee the takeover."

"Sounds like a smooth operation. What if something goes wrong?" asked Carrie.

"Then we'll improvise. Regardless, the amount of time it'll take us to get in, depending on their defenses, should take about forty minutes. After that you guys should hear from us. If not then launch after an hour," said Wes, adjusting his plan to answer the question.

Carrie nodded.

Jesse was pacing at the back of the room, letting Wes' plan filter into his brain. His own thoughts were of Geovani and how he was going to strangle him during the mission. He hoped that it would all go smoothly, but he knew that nothing ever went smoothly. He ran a list through his head of missions that went bad as Wes went on with his plan.

"Once the base is wiped out, hopefully we'll get our hands on Geovani and punish him properly."

Jenna knew what Wes meant by `properly', but she had her own plans on what to do with him.

The two fighter teams chatted for a few hours after the meeting and then resigned to their rooms for the night, anxiously awaiting the call that would send them off on yet another dangerous mission.

The ringing made Wes jump out of his seat. The eleven pilots had been sitting in the office for the past two hours, awaiting the important call. Jeremy had kept himself busy by playing Solitaire on his laptop, but as soon as the phone rang he loaded his phone-tracing/hacking program.

Wes picked up the phone and spoke to Geovani.

"You know what to do now, Wesley," said Geovani.

Wes grumbled and switched the main viewer on. The green uniformed husky appeared once more. The ten pilots now gathered around the monitor as Geovani issued his demands. Jeremy was busily tracking down the location of the phone call, hoping that Geovani was as much of a windbag as Jenna had given him credit for. All Wes had to do was keep him talking for another thirty seconds and he would have the location.

"How do you expect us to surrender if you don't tell us where you are?" asked Wes.

"Oh no, I know that old game. I'm not stupid, Wesley. I've arranged a little transportation for the five of you to come and join me, and Chinook would be glad to see you as well. I doubt he'll be very coherent but I'm sure he'll be glad all the same," replied Geovani.

"Give him some zinc now Geovani!" pleaded Jenna," He must be far into anemia by now!"

"Yes, it's a shame to see his skin turn pale the way it is, and he keeps asking for water. No doubt a symptom of anemia, hmm?"

"You're giving him water right?" asked Jenna.

"Yes, but it's been run through a scanner and demineralized. There's no hope of any zinc in his body now."

"When will this `transportion' arrive?" asked Wes, getting back to the important stuff.

"Tomorrow. Three armed men will arrive here and take you to the spaceport where my private jet will take you to my base."

"Very well," agreed Wes.

Geovani just nodded and disconnected once more. Everyone looked at Jeremy, who was still typing; beeps emitted from his computer.

"Did you get the location!?" asked Jesse.

Jeremy looked up and turned red with embarrassment," Why yes, of course. I was just playing a game until you were done!"

Everyone groaned.

Jenna stood next to her fighter. She had named it the Aurora Borealis, in memory of the beautiful sights she had seen on earth when she was younger. The young husky was unable to put aside the thoughts in her head; thoughts of the events of the past few days. Chinook loved her? Geovani was a traitor? Now she was about to risk her life in a plan that was supposed to work. But what if something went wrong?

She checked her med-pac once more. Inside was a small package that contained the syringe that held the zinc formula. With the amounts of zinc in the fluid, Chinook would be able to walk out of the base with a little bit of help. Recovery might take a few days, but she was sure that Chinook would make it. He was young and strong.

She sighed and climbed the boarding ladder that lay against the fighter. The smell of the cockpit wafted to her nostrils; the smell of leather and metal. She slid her comm-unit over her head and adjusted the mic so it was right in front of her mouth.

"Jenna here, testing 1 2 3," she spoke into the mic.

"This is control," replied the launch control officer," We read you loud and clear."

Jenna listened as the others checked in before taking off. She sighed once more and launched her fighter out of the hanger. Their first stop was to rendezvous with the Mustela Team. The six black stealth fighters soon came into view and they grouped together and flew towards the second waypoint. There the troop transport waited. As soon as the fighters were hovering overhead the transport took off and the small group of ships flew towards the coordinates of the enemy outpost.

Wes was tense. He wasn't sure what was going to happen in the next few hours. All he knew was that he had a job to do, both as leader and a friend to Chinook. He hated the idea that Geovani had tricked him and managed to take Chinook, but today he would get back at him; this he swore.

Frieze was worried too. She and Chinook had been good friends for a long time, and she hated the idea of having to see him after Geovani's description. Pale skin. Dry mouth. Jenna was very precise in detailing a few other things. Weakness, fatigue, dizziness, as well as severe breathing difficulties. Frieze just wanted to get in, rescue Chinook, and get out.

"Alright guys," said Wes, finally," Let's proceed from here and approach the base from the southeast."

"Copy that," replied Jenna.

This was her first real combat mission. She had only been on the team for a short time, and her training was going very well, but she wasn't sure whether she was ready to go into combat; to risk her life. But for Chinook, for her friend, she would do it.

"Sir, we have five enemy fighters coming in," reported a radar officer.

Geovani choked as the coffee he was drinking went down the wrong pipe. After a few moments of coughing he managed to speak," What!? Who is it?"

"I'm not sure sir. I'll switch to infrared zoom," replied the officer.

The image of the incoming fighters appeared on the screen. It was a group of XVR-7 Lupus-Class Arwings.

"It's those guys from the RADS. How did they find us?" gasped Geovani," Never mind. Launch some of our own fighters!"

"Yes sir!"

"Uh... Wes?" began Frieze nervously.

"I see 'em. Twelve fighters coming our way!" finished Wes.

"How could they detect us so soon?" asked Jesse.

Wes looked around. He didn't have an answer. They must have had some high-tech, long-range radar system.

"Never mind. Engage all-range mode," ordered Wes.

Each Arwing responded to its controls. The horizontally mounted wings rotated upwards on their gyro-stabilization system into a vertical position. They then opened like a pair of scissors and locked into place. The fours deadly cannons, mounted at the ends of each wing, charged up and prepared to speak red hot flashes of light energy.

"Wes, I've got a fix on what type of fighters those are," said Jeremy.

"Well, what have we got here?" asked Wes.

"I scanned them, then cross-referenced them with all known types of ships. Apparently they're a fighter that Venom was developing near the end of the war, but then scrapped. They're called Fireballs. I could download the technical specs if you want?"

"Forget it. They're getting closer. Everyone pick a target. Two in fact! Cover each other's back..." began Wes.

"We already know this crap!" interrupted Jesse," Let's get 'em!"

The fighters flew on a direct course with the incoming Fireballs. Lasers shot out and collided against shields, but little damage was done. Each Arwing had two fighters on it, and while attacking one it had the other attacking it.

"I got one!" cheered Jesse as one of the fighters went down in flames.

Wes was concentrating on the fighters in his sights, but then it pulled up hard and disappeared.

"What the...?" he gasped.

"I got the specs. They've got a maneuverability rating of 120 DPF. Oh my gosh!" gasped Jeremy. Several lasers hit his fighter and his flight console sparked," My computer's dead!"

Jenna flew to intercept the fighters. She fired and sent one down in flames," They may be able to outmaneuver us, but they don't have shields worth crap!"

"Are you hurt bad, Jer?" asked Frieze.

"I'm okay, but I can't target anyone," replied Jeremy, trying to feel sorry for his broken computer. For Jeremy it was like losing an old friend.

Jesse was trailing another fighter when it too swooped out of sight. It ended up on his tail and placed some well aimed lasers on his engines.

"Darn it! I'm losing altitude. That fighter shot out my G-diffuser!"

Jesse was too low to be able to pull out of the dive and his fighter skidded to a stop on the ground. The lower two wings were ripped off and sparks flew everywhere.

"Jesse's down!" reported Jenna.

"I know that!" exclaimed Jesse from the cockpit of his downed fighter.

Frieze screamed as she accidentally collided with an enemy fighter. Her shields dropped and a few laser blasts caused her to join Jesse on the ground.

"Guys! We're flying like amateurs!" shouted Wes.

Wes made his point clearer by shooting down two fighters at once," Loosen up a bit!"

A torpedo was launched by one of the fighters and it crashed into Wes' ship. His systems failed and he too found himself going down," Darn it! Ion torpedo!"

Jeremy was almost helpless, but he managed to shoot a fighter out from behind Jenna. Then a system blew out and his engines died," I guess this is it!"

Jenna frowned. There were six fighters all trying to shoot her down. She pulled a somersault and landed on the backs of two fighters. She fired her cannons and sent them down. But then she too felt the sharp jolt of an Ion torpedo. Her ship went down and she crashed with the rest of the team.

Wes found Frieze and lifter her off the ground," Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit shaken up," she replied. Indeed she was shaking all over.

Jesse stumbled around the wreckage of the downed fighters. He kicked at anything loose that he could send flying," Darn it! My new ship!"

"What about my ship?" asked Jenna," It's totally useless."

Wes stopped the arguing and they began to move towards their original goal: the base.

"We're still about twenty kilometers away from the base," said Jeremy, who was able to salvage a scanner from his ship," It's to the Northeast."

"Well let's go!" said Jesse.

The group of pilots began their long trek to the base. The mountains loomed ahead, their biggest obstacle.

Wes pulled out his electrobinoculars and scanned the area. It was several hours later, and the team was running seriously behind schedule, but they had to get Chinook out somehow. Wes passed the binoculars to Jesse," So, what do you think?"

"I'd say we have a good chance of getting in. They're so well hidden and protected they have very few guards," replied Jesse. He passed the binoculars to Jenna.

"Yeah, we can get in right over there," she said pointing to several hedges that ran along the south wall.

The team moved stealthily around the rocks and came within a few meters of the base's hedge. Wes paused and looked around. The guards had walked by on their patrol and wouldn't be back for another ten minutes. Wes made a run for the hedge, followed by Jesse, Jenna, Frieze, and finally Jeremy with his scanner tucked under one arm.

"I think we made it," said Jenna.

Jesse nodded and felt around the wall for the secret entrance that had shown on Jeremy's read-out of the base. He was able to hack in and get a complete layout of the base during Wes' conversation with Geovani.

"We're almost there," said Jeremy," Chinook should be about two sub levels below us."

"Great! But how do we get down there?" asked Frieze.

Jesse pulled out his blaster," Like this!"

He kicked the wall and the secret panel fell inward. The team gasped and moaned, for they were sure that Jesse had just given away their position. But no one came. There was no alarm.

"You're really pushing things, Jes," said Wes.

Jesse just shrugged and led the team into the base. There was a long hallway that had several steel doors leading to several parts of the base. Jeremy checked the markings on each one carefully before finally pressing on one. With the help of the others he managed to get the door open. They found themselves on a large set of stairs that led down on a forty-five degree angle.

"Nice way to access the sub levels," said Frieze sarcastically. She almost fell down the stairs as she took a few steps.

"Everyone keep your eyes open," said Wes.

"And your blasters ready," added Jesse.

The team slowly made their way down the stairs. They passed the first sub level. There was nothing there except several worker droids and humming machines.

"They must be doing something down here," said Jenna.

"Maybe trying to make closes of Andross," guessed Jeremy.

The team gave him an odd look," What?" he asked.

They continued down until they reached several small doors. Jeremy checked them and opened one. There was a guard just inside with his back facing the team. Jesse pistol whipped him and he gasped and fell. His helmet fell off and rolled away, revealing a monkey officer.
"Yep, this is definitely a Venomian base," said Jenna.

"And Geovani was working for them the whole time!" said Wes.

They stepped over the unconscious guard and continued down another hallway until they came to another set of stairs. There wasn't a lot of light at the bottom so it was hard to see what was at the botom of them.

"That's the prison level," said Jeremy.," Be careful, they have laser traps everywhere."

Wes nodded and kept his eyes open.

Jenna, anxious to find Chinook and administer the zinc formula, took the lead. She saw him, hanging by his chains in his cell at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh my gosh, look at him!" gasped Frieze.

Chinook was almost white as a ghost. His dry tongue hung out of his mouth and his eyes were closed shut. Jenna held his head up and rubbed his cheek. There was no response.

"I need to inject him now. Keep your eyes open guys," said Jenna. She pulled out her med-pak and grabbed the small needle. After testing it to make sure it would inject properly she stuck it in Chinook's arm. The yellow fluid soon drained from the needle and into Chinook's bloodstream.

Jenna reached into her pack and pulled out a water bottle. She held it to Chinook's parched lips. Most of the water dripped down his front, but some of it went into his mouth. He coughed and sputtered as some of it went down the wrong pipe. He coughed once more and then opened his eyes," Jenna?" he said weakly, barely able to speak.

"Yes, we're all here!" she said happily. Chinook was still alright.

Wes smiled and Frieze waved. Jesse was too busy patrolling to notice and Jeremy was planning their escape route on his scanner.

"I knew you'd come," Chinook croaked.

"We'd better get you out soon," said Jenna," Frieze, I'll need you to help me carry him out."

"Okay," replied Frieze.

Frieze took the key scanner from the wall and ran it over Chinook's manacles. They beeped and released. Chinook sighed as the clamps fell off his wrists. He could feel the circulation returning to his paws. Jenna took his left arm over her shoulder and Frieze took the other side.

Jesse was looking around the corner when he saw someone coming. It was a hyena dressed in a Major's uniform," Here comes one of the bigwigs now," thought Jesse.

He came around the corner but the hyena had seen him. He jumped at Jesse. Jesse dodged, but felt a searing pain in his arm. He grabbed it and saw a scorched mark. The hyena turned to face him.

"Ha! Leaving so soon? I think not!" said Raoul, holding up two shock phasers," I'll take care of you! Just like I did with your friend over there!"

Jesse lifted his blaster but the hyena zapped it out of his hand. Raoul then ran at Jesse, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Jesse ducked his attack and hit Raoul with a powerful uppercut. Then a left hook and a kick to the stomach. Raoul groaned ad swung at Jesse. Jesse ducked and grabbed the shock phasers out of Raoul's hands. He pressed them to the hyena's head and hit the power switch. Raoul's hair stood on end and his arms flailed in all directions as the energy coursed through his body. The smoking corpse fell to the floor.

"That's for what you did to Chinook!" shouted Jesse. He had seen the burn marks on Chinook's body. Now things were even.

"What!?" shouted Admiral Xun.

"Yes sir. Raoul is dead and the malamute has escaped," repeated Geovani. He was sure that Xun was going to take it out of his hide.

"I should punish you, Commander. This whole thing was your idea! But I'm not going to do that. Instead I'm putting you in charge of planning a new strategy. Since your old one seems to have failed I suggest you plan our main frontal assault on Corneria City!"

"Yes sir." Geovani bowed and left the room.

Once in his quarters he slumped into a chair. How could he have escaped? he thought over and over again. His only answer was that the Fulva Assault Team had survived their crash and made their way to the base. From there they rescued Chinook and were able to escape.

"Darn it!" he shouted again.

Wes waved as frantically as he could, as did Jesse and Frieze, but the six black fighters soared past.

"I thought they were going to wait for my say-so?!" exclaimed Wes, annoyed that the Mustela Team had launched without the signal.

"You took too long. And they must have known we'd been shot down. They waited until the last minute," replied Jenna. She checked her watch," It's been well over an hour."

Chinook, who was still weak and unable to walk, spoke quietly," The radar. They'll be shot down!"

"What do you mean? They have stealth shields. They'll pop right up on their front door," said Jesse.

"No... the radar... can detect high... technology. Their stealth shields will only... make a brighter blip on the... sensor screen." Chinook collapsed.

"Oh my gosh!" gasped Wes," That explains why we were detected so quickly."

"That means Mustela is flying into a trap!"

"We have successfully intercepted the new wave of fighters sir. Their stealth shields lit up on our radar like a nightlight on the dark side of Fortuna," reported Geovani, pleased to have something good to tell the Admiral.

"Excellent. Let's see if they try anything else, or will they allow the deaths of more pilots?" chuckled Xun.

The answer to his question came a few seconds later from an officer monitoring the radar screens," Sir. We've got a Cornerian Troop-Carrier coming this way."

"You know what to do, Commander," said Xun as he left the command room.

"Yes sir. Launch one of our Copperheads!"

The Troop-Carrier lumbered along at barely fifty kilometers per hour when an alarm went off inside the cockpit," Sir, we have an incoming projectile. Two o'clock," reported the copilot."

"Drop countermeasures when it's in range and pull hard to port," replied the pilot.

"Copy that," the copilot flipped a few switches and gripped the control stick tightly. This was what the training exercises had prepared him for; trying to maneuver a huge ponderous craft out of the way of a high-speed missile.

"Missile is here, sir."

"Begin evasive maneuvers, drop countermeasures!"

The craft began to bank to the left. At the same time three small warheads popped out of the bottom and launched themselves towards the incoming missile. The three flares exploded against the tough armour of the Copperhead Missile, doing very little damage.

"No effect, sir!" exclaimed the copilot.

"Keep maneuvering!"

It was too late. The Copperhead slammed against the hull of the Carrier and exploded, taking the ship and the sixty-two people on board with it.

"This has gone far enough!" shouted General Pepper.

He was in his office along with the Fulva Assault Team, minus Chinook who was recovering in the hospital.

"Sir, about the radar," began Wes.

"What about it, Commander?" asked Pepper, still fuming from the lost ships and crew.

"What we need is something that is pre-technology. Something that wouldn't be detected by a radar that detects high technology."

"And what do you suggest?"

"I have no idea, but it gives us a ball park to play in."

Pepper grimaced and shook his head. He couldn't think of anything around that was low-tech enough to fly past a high-technology radar system," How low-tech are we looking at here?"

"No electrical systems. No sensors, targeting computers, lasers, anything. Possibly something pre-jet too?"

"Are you out of your mind?"

"What about the first flying Canis fighter?"

"The Hawkbat 9000? They barely have three operating models, and the rest are in museums," said Jeremy," She was a beauty. Prop driven, but it was a literal box with wings!"

"Something better. More sophisticated."

Jenna jumped out of her seat," Earth!"

The others looked at her.

"I once spent several years on earth and while I was there I saw these wonderful looking planes in museums from a war that happened on earth hundreds of years ago. They were prop-driven and barely had a decent radar."

"What about functional versions of them?" asked Pepper.

"They still have a lot lying around. They're also owned by collectors all over earth. All we need to do is get permission to use them or buy them."

"I think you've got a plan there, Jen!" said Frieze.

Pepper sighed," I guess I'll get on the line to Emperor Xian. He'd be the one to ask for such a favor."

Chinook smiled as Jenna entered the room. She had been in and out for the past two days and her sight was what kept him feeling better every day; well, that and the constant flow of zinc.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked.

"A lot better. The doctor said I could probably leave in a few days," replied Chinook.

Jenna sat down in a chair next to his bed and took his hand," I was really worried about what had happened to you, 'Nook. I knew what would happen if you didn't get zinc. Now look at you."

"Yeah, but you're a doctor and you're supposed to know these things," Chinook winked," Hey. You knew I'd be alright. I'm a tough old bird!"

"You certainly are," Jenna smiled. He was up to his old humour again.

Chinook stepped onto the runway, happy to be back to his old job. Since he was still a bit weak and not strong enough to do too much work he was supervising the unloading of the old fighters from the transports from earth. Chinook was checking off each numbered fighter from the list and writing down notes. He was amazed at some of the fighters that rolled out of the cargo bay. The next one came out. It was a silver one with a single engine. A four bladed propeller ended the yellow nose of the plane and in each wing was three fifty caliber machine guns.

He checked off the list : P-51D Mustang # E2-D.

Such odd names, he thought. Messerschmitt, Lightning, Zero, Tempest, Corsair. He made a small star next to the one that appealed to him the most: the Focke Wulfe 190F. It had several guns on it for a heavy attack and was also heavily armoured. He couldn't wait for his chance to go up in one.

The rest of the planes were unloaded and lined up in rows on the field. A total of twenty-two fighters along with ten bombers had been sent by earth as a donation to Corneria's war effort. In return Emperor Xian had requested half the number of Arwings as planes he sent to Corneria. Sixteen Arwings now waited to leave for earth on board the transports.

Chinook walked through the rows, looking up at the planes. He had never seen such things. His life had been full of jets and lasers, but here were centuries old fighters with propellers and machine guns. He ran his hand along the wing of a Lightning. It was a bit rough and covered with rivets; much different from the Arwing's hull which was smooth and almost seemed to be made out of one piece of material. The Lightning had external racks for carrying air-to-ground rockets. Chinook wondered how they ever won a dogfight without missiles or lasers, but back then guns and rockets were the best way to fight. He also looked at the two bomb racks. The Lightning could also carry two bombs. Why not have a Nova Bomb launcher? thought Chinook.

Jenna watched him as he examined the rest of the planes. Chinook seemed to be doing a lot better, but he still walked with a slight limp and needed to rest frequently. He would be ready to fly again in a day or two, but right now he managed to keep himself busy. Jenna thought of what Jeremy had said a few days ago, that Chinook liked her. Jenna had felt strongly towards Chinook, but she never knew for certain whether he liked her as well. She hoped this would all be over soon to allow them more time together.

A day had passed, and finally Chinook had the okay from his doctor to fly a plane. Chinook chose a silvery P-38J Lightning and strapped himself in. After the past day of reviewing exactly how each of the planes worked, how their compass worked, as well as avionics and other things necessary to fly the weird new fighters, Chinook was sure that he was ready. He was most worried about whether his body was up to the task, though.

He got the plane up to speed and pulled back on the stick. A bit tighter than he was used to, the stick eventually came back towards his chest and the plane rose off the runway and into the sky. Jeremy, who had examined every inch of each plane and every bit of statistical data was coaching him from the control tower," Now don't pull her back too steep or she'll stall on you. Level out a bit. That's good."

Chinook smiled and barrel-rolled. He was surprised when he almost smashed his head on the glass canopy. His Arwing had an artificial gravity generator which kept him firmly in place. He would have to get used to not having one.

"Enjoying your ride, flyboy?" asked Wes, who was also in the tower.

"You bet!" replied Chinook. He dived down and then pulled his plane in a somersault. As Jeremy had warned the plane lost a lot of speed while climbing, but once he came around and leveled out he sped up a bit. He buzzed past the tower at 300 mph and waved at the staff and his friends.

"I guess he's ready to try out her combat capabilities," suggested Jesse.

"'Nook, we're sending out some unarmed drones. See how many you can get," said Jeremy as he launched the drones.

"Okay," replied Chinook.

He switched his cannons on and flew towards the fighters. They were mockups of the type of fighter that Andross had used on Venom as his main defense fighter. The unarmed version was commonly used on a small station close to Corneria which was used as a training facility. The drone was unarmed, but after several successful kills were achieved the trainers often sent out aggressors: armed and dangerous Wolfen I drones.

Chinook approached the drones and fired his guns. The loud blare from the guns and bright flash from the barrels distracted him for a second and he missed the drones.

"It's alright. I'll get the next one," said Chinook. He banked left and tracked another fighter in his sights. He fired, but the bullets fell just below his target. He pulled back to compensate and was rewarded as the fighter went down," Tell Jeremy we need to calibrate these sights!' he said.

"I'll make a note of that," replied Jeremy.

Chinook followed a few more drones and shot down two of them, but a third got away," I wish I could just lock-on and blast these guys!"

"It'll take a bit of getting used to, but just pretend your targeting computer is damaged. You learned that in the Academy," said Wes.

"I know I know!" Chinook shot back.

Several more drones went down. Chinook was obviously enjoying himself.

"Hey 'Nook. Frieze is coming up in a Spitfire. Why don't you two team up against some aggressors?" suggested Jesse.

"Sure, why not?" chuckled Chinook. He was having such a good time that he didn't seem to care about any more difficult drones.

Frieze came up behind him and took a position just off of his starboard wing," Hey there, 'Nook. Mind if I join the fun?"

"Not at all! You take the guy on the right," said Chinook.

"You got it!"

The two Wolfen's approached and fired their laser cannons. Chinook tried to pull up but the plane was more sluggish than his Arwing so he couldn't avoid the shots," You've been hit Chinook. It's a dead shot. You're out of the fight," said Jeremy.

"Awww!" shouted Chinook. He was glad that the lasers were fakes, but in real life they would have ignited his fuel tanks and sent him down with the drones he had shot down. Chinook prepared to turn back to base and land the plane when he got a pain in his arm.

"What's wrong Chinook," asked Jenna, after hearing the gasp of pain.

"My arm just went limp. I'm getting pins and needles in the other one," replied Chinook.

Jesse, Wes, Jeremy, and Jenna watched as the Lightning lost altitude and came towards the control tower.

"Chinook, pull up now!" shouted Wes.

"'Nook!" said Jesse.

The Lightning banked to the right and barely missed the tower," I can't hold on much longer," said Chinook.

"Can you bail out?" asked Wes.

"Hold on..."

A dark shape fell from the plane and a white chute opened. Chinook looked like a limp rag doll as he floated towards the ground. The Lightning drifted along until it scraped along the ground and exploded.

Jenna ran towards Chinook and helped him up," I'm okay. Just a few scrapes."

"I should get you back to the hospital. I was a fool to let you fly so soon!" exclaimed Jenna.

"Aw, Jen," but Jenna hushed him and helped him inside.

Several other pilots in the RADS were also trained in piloting the planes. They now had enough pilots for each plane and were ready to attack the enemy base.

"Do you still think this will work?" Jesse asked Jenna.

"Jeremy has scanned every inch of these planes and nothing even gives the slightest hint of medium or high technology. If anything could get past that radar it's these planes," replied Jenna. She was looking forward to flying her own Corsair into battle. The Corsair was a nice looking plane, with bent wings, six machine guns, and a very nice maneuverability rating. Jesse, who liked being protected while he kicked butt, picked a Focke Wulfe 190F. It had incredible turning ability, strong armour, and was fairly swift as well.

Some of the planes were designated as bombers, and were armed accordingly. Bombs and rockets were mounted on external racks and each plane was designated a target to hit. The other fighters' jobs were to protect these planes long enough for them to deliver their payloads and destroy the base. Their primary target was the secret radar. As soon as it was gone then Corneria would send dozens of Arwings and troop transports into the battle to finish the job.

Wes scanned the surrounding base. The fighters were lined up along with the Arwings. A few hundred meters away the transports were waiting to be filled with troops that would overrun the base once they landed. He smiled. It was going to be a great battle, and an even greater victory. He looked at the first row of fighters, his gold P-51D Mustang sitting in the middle. He was to lead the attack with the original Fulva Assault Team, except for Chinook who was ordered to stay at the base until the attack was over. He was an accident waiting to happen and Wes didn't want him getting hurt.

Finally the time came for each of the pilots to get into their fighters and head into battle. Each fighter carried a set of drop tanks, external tanks full of fuel, to allow it to fly farther and for longer periods of time. The distance to the enemy base was a long one, and they wanted to make sure that each plane would have enough fuel to make it there and back. Wes climbed into his cockpit for what seemed like the hundredth time. After strapping in he turned the ignition and watched as the propeller slowly started to spin. He looked out his rear window as the other planes slowly started up as well.

"These pieces of junk still run well at least," he said to himself.

He donned his radio helmet and called to the control tower," You have permission to take off. Good luck!" replied the tower.

"Take care, Wes," said Chinook, who was sitting on a chair in the tower.

"We'll be fine," replied Wes.

He signaled the other planes beside him and pushed his throttle lever to full. The engine blared louder and the plane started to move. This is it, he thought. The fleet of old flying machines were soon in the air and on their way towards the enemy base.

The radar officer of the Venomian base looked at the screen for the thousandth time in the past hour. His shift was almost over and he would be glad to retire to his bunk for another six hours of sleep. He doubted that Corneria would send anything against them again, after what happened with the two squadrons of fighters and the troop carrier, but he was still on-duty and he had a job to do.

Finally his relief came and the two of them chatted for a few minutes. The radar beeped once and then went quiet.

"What was that?" asked the relief.

"I'm not sure," said the officer. He looked at the screen," I could have sworn I just saw a couple of blips on the screen!"

"Maybe it's just nothing. Electrical interference?"

"I guess you're right. Well," he yawned," I'll see you in six."

Wes breathed in deeply. They were just entering the radar's detection radius. He looked at the old compass on his dashboard. It still read Northeast. The entire group of fighters were flying low over the hills and trees to stay undetected as long as possible. The Arwings had broken off several kilometers away from the detection radius and now waited with the three troop carriers. As soon as the radar was gone they would begin the second phase of the attack. Wes just hoped that the old planes would be able to pull off their part.

He checked his armband, the only bit of technology in the entire fleet. It calculated the distance to the base relative to their position. It was just another twenty kilometers now. Wes saw the familiar mountains that he had climbed over just a few days earlier. He decided to break radio silence to give the fleet its final orders. He only hoped that the Venomians couldn't detect such an old frequency," Okay guys here's the deal. The base lies just over these hills. As soon as you clear them go straight for your designated targets."

He heard a few pilots confirm his orders and gripped his control stick firmly. This was it.

"As you can see, Admiral," finished Geovani," The attack should only take a few minutes. Twenty at the most in fact. Corneria City will be destroyed, then New Dunkirk and a few other major military installations."

"Excellent. When can you launch?" asked Admiral Xun.

"Right now."

Wes gasped as the fighters came flying over the mountains towards them," I think we've been spotted! All fighters release drop tanks and engage!"

All of the fighters in the fleet detached the small fuel tanks to allow less weight and more maneuverability.

"I guess we'll find out how these guns do against their shields," said Wes, and he fired his six 50 caliber machine guns. The first fighter's shield flashed as it tried to turn away, but the bullets eventually ate their way through and the fighter exploded.

"It works!" shouted Jesse. He opened fire on his own target.

Every plane in the first wave of fighters fired and shot down several enemy fighters. As they passed by more fighters went down. The enemy fighters finally realized what was going on and started firing their lasers. The old planes, weak and unshielded, exploded and went down in flames. Wes was able to turn his fighter back towards the main group of fighters and carefully chose some targets. In a battle such as this, friendly fire was extremely deadly. Even a stray shot could damage or destroy another plane.

Jenna was still in love with her Corsair. She dodged around several of the incoming fighters and pulled back to head in the opposite direction. She tailed a few fighters and shot them down with ease. Armed with as many guns as Wes, she seemed to be as successful against the shielded fighters as he was. The rest of the fleet passed by, firing their guns, exploding, dodging enemy fire. Jenna kept her eyes on the enemy fighters and didn't let the rest of the fighting distract her.

Jeremy enjoyed the power of his fighter, a Lightning. Armed with four 50 cal. machine guns and a 20mm cannon he had a bit of extra punch to add to his main volley of fire. He laughed as another enemy fighter went down. The sheer number of planes totally overwhelmed the enemy fighters and their number was slowly decreasing.

Wes watched as several of the designated bombers flew over the edge of the mountains. he broke away from the fighting and joined them as an escort. There were a few defensive guns, and they soon fired on the incoming fighters. One of the bombers exploded. Wes fired on the armoured gun turret and destroyed it. One of the bombers fired a rocket at another and destroyed it. Just then a pure white fighter streaked past. Wes heard a voice come through his headset," Now it's just you and me, Wesley!" It was Geovani!

"So, you found out what we did, huh? Managed to find my frequency?" replied Wes.

"So? Who cares! I'm going to shoot you down and make sure you don't bail out of that old piece of crap!"

The white fighter had an important advantage: speed. It flew away from the Mustang and then pulled a U-turn and came right at Wes, its guns blazing. Wes tried to avoid every shot and dived to avoid colliding with the white jet.

"Hah! Want to see that one again?" taunted Geovani.

The white jet once again came at Wes. Wes had to think of something to use against him... and quick! Basically the only advantage he had against Geovani's fighter was maneuverability. He turned towards Geovani's next attack and fired his guns into the ship. The shields deflected the bullets and Geovani laughed," You'll have to try harder than that!"

Wes gritted his teeth and flew around the base. He swooped under an overhang of rock and looked back to see if Geovani had followed him. Geovani bounced off the ground under the rock and back up into the air," Nice try, Wes!"

"That's it!" shouted Wes. He dived towards the nearby forest. Geovani was right behind him. He pulled up and skimmed the treetops. The white jet was right on his tail. Wes watched as a tall pine tree approached and bet his life that Geovani was too busy lining him up in his sights to see it. He pulled up at the last second and quickly glanced back to watch Geovani smack right into the tree. A bright flash of sparks erupted from the white jet.

"Hah! It's my turn now!" said Wes.

He turned back towards Geovani and fired his guns. The bullets collapsed the glass canopy and left several black holes in the white hull.

"My ship! You'll pay for this Wes!" shouted Geovani. He wiped the blood from his face as the glass shards cut deep gashes into it.

Wes only grinned as he tailed Geovani. Geovani pulled a somersault and ended up on Wes' tail. Wes was surprised, but tried his own maneuver. He rotated his ship upside-down and then pulled back on the stick, sending his fighter diving towards the ground. Geovani couldn't follow and lost Wes for a second. He checked his sensors and smiled. He was just to the left of him. But as he turned he realized that he wasn't just to the left, but was also coming right at him.

"You..." he shouted, but it was too late. The bullets ripped through the damaged fighter and caused it to explode.

Admiral Xun picked up the incompetent officer and threw him across the room," If you want something done you've got to do it yourself!" he said out loud. He picked up the headset and shouted at the gunners," Get those fighters or I'll have your livers for dinner!"

The guns soon moved faster, shooting at the incoming fighters. The bombers had been trying to destroy the radar dome, but it was protected by an energy shield. Then one of the pilots decided that the only place where the power could come from was the main generator. He flew close to the generator, despite the incoming laser fire, and launched his load of six rockets at the large bulky piece of machinery. The rockets impacted and the pilot watched as the main generator exploded.

"That should do it!" he shouted.

Seconds later the bombers dropped more bombs on the radar dome and destroyed it.

"The radar is destroyed. Go now!" ordered General Pepper.
The Arwings took off and flew towards the base, along with the troop carrier.

Chinook couldn't stand waiting anymore. The attack was going well, the radar had just been destroyed, and the fight was almost over. He pushed past the guards and jumped into one of the Arwings that was sitting in the hanger. Despite objections from flight control he took off and flew on a direct course for the enemy base.

"Here comes the calvary!" shouted Jesse.

The Arwings cut through the ranks of enemy fighters like a hot knife through butter. The old planes had prevailed over the more powerful ships, and now flew on a course back towards the base at New Dunkirk.

As they flew along, Frieze spotted a group of enemy fighters that had slipped by and were now heading towards the cities. "They're going to attack!" she exclaimed.

"We couldn't catch them!" said Jeremy.

"I can!" said a familiar. It was Chinook.

"I told you to stay in bed!" shouted Jenna.

"Hey, I couldn't let you have all the fun!"

Chinook aimed right at the group of fighters and locked on. Several exploded with the powerful blasts that shot out of his fighter's cannons. The group of enemy fighters broke up and soon realized that they were once again surrounded by planes. They started to counter attack, but to no avail. They soon went down in flames.

"We did it!" cheered Jenna. But she didn't have sensors on her plane. If she did then she would have seen the fighter that was coming up behind her. The laser shot buzzed past and nearly killed her.

"Jenna! Watch out!" cried Chinook. He flew past Jenna and shot down the fighter.

"Whew! Thanks 'Nook!' replied Jenna.

"Now aren't you glad that I came along?"

"Of course," smiled Jenna.

There was a loud battle cry as the troops charged into the base. As the Arwings destroyed the rest of the bases defenses and fighters, the troops had the base secure in less than half an hour. It was finally over. The whole attack force regrouped at New Dunkirk with the base's personnel and as many pilots as they found still alive. Geovani wasn't among them. Jenna was relieved at least.

"That guy was a real creep. I wish I could have been the one to toast him," pouted Jenna.

Chinook smiled at her," You still got a lot of kills. I'm envious of your score!"

"I think you'll like this score better," she replied, and she kissed him on his lips. Chinook's eyes opened wide and he just stared at her.

"Woah!" he gasped.

"That was for saving me," she said.

"Well, you know..."

"And this is for me," and she kissed him again, longer this time.

Chinook smiled and kissed her back. When they stopped Chinook turned towards the group of pilots," Somebody owes me money! You promised not to tell her!"

"How did you know that I knew?" asked Jenna.

"Well, I never told you. And, not to insult your intelligence or anything, but I doubt you could have figured it out in the past week."

"Well yes. Jeremy spilled the beans."

"You're dead, 'Coon!" shouted Chinook.

He and Jenna laughed. They were finally together again, and nothing was going to ever come between them.

Frieze cried out as Carrie entered the room with the rest of the Mustela team," I'm glad you're okay!" she said as she hugged her friend.

"Me too. When we got shot down and captured I though we were done for. Those stealth fighters were pieces of crap with wings!" replied Carrie.

"Yeah. I know," laughed Frieze.

Wes watched Chinook and Jenna from a distance. He thought of Nikki and of the good times they had together. He was happy for Chinook and Jenna, but was also sad. He missed Nikki a lot; more than he ever liked to talk about. Although he had killed her killer it never seemed like enough. Wes still felt alone. Frieze came up behind him and patted him on the back," Why so glum? We won!" she cheered.

Wes smiled," I guess I am huh?" Then he screamed as Jesse poured cold champagne down his back," Aahhh!"

"Congrats you lucky devil! We've all been promoted again! Ha ha! What a life huh!" shouted Jesse.

Wes laughed and grabbed the bottle from Jesse. He shook it up again and sprayed everyone within a ten-foot radius. He changed his mind and stopped feeling bad for himself. He had plenty of friends, and was just glad that they were still around.

Jenna and Chinook walked through the park that night. They held paws and chatted and laughed as if the previous week's events had never happened. It was an experience that they both wanted to forget and put behind them. Chinook motioned towards a lone park bench that looked out on the small lake in the center of the park. The silver moon reflected beautifully off the still water.

"Jenna?" began Chinook.

"Yes?" she asked. Chinook took her hands in his.

"Do you really love me?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"I've never really felt true love before. I have had a lot of trouble in my life, especially what happened with Clyde and Nikki a few months ago. But then you came along and I thought my life had gotten better. You were smart, pretty, funny, and you were also a good friend."

"I thin you are too, 'Nook"

They kissed again. Finally Chinook had happiness in his life. And he hoped that it would last for a very long time.

THE END

"One of the more fascinating aspects of that project was the human... spirit, the human element. Being able to withstand an onslaught of... of uh... uhhh high technology. And how the high technology had failed."
~George Lucas, referring to his project on the Vietnam War

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