FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Cabin Fever"

Wolf's eyes were slits in his head as he piloted his ship. After a fourteen hour debacle against team Star Fox, he was exhausted and was exceedingly grateful to switch his autopilot on, as he felt his Arwing's gravitational turn take effect he laid back against the back of his seat and groaned in exhaustion. He looked at the stars overhead; the windows of his cab giving a pristine view of space above him, the familiar distortions of Panther's ship flying nearby caught his attention, then the sound of the communicator beeping on his console brought his mind back into the reality of the cockpit.

"Yeah?" He asked instinctively as he hit the button when Panther's face flickered and flashed into visibility. "What is it?"

"Hey Wolf, you heading to base with us? Last time I counted, it was Leon's turn to buy the rounds."

Wolf smirked, indulging for a moment that the idea of drinking with his team sounded like fun, but quickly his face turned stone again. "Nah. I've got plans." He said. "I'll meet back with you guys in two days."

"Alright then." Panther nodded. "I'll keep you on long range scanners and we will contact you if anything comes up."

"Great. Wolf out."

As the screen flashed dark again, Wolf groaned and leaned back, placing the heels of his boots on the console as he stretched out. He didn't have any plans, but he felt restless and he couldn't exactly show that in front of the team he led. Even in a relaxing environment like a bar, it would be construed as awkward; a weakness, and he wouldn't be a fit leader if he let them in. As the ships of his teammates veered off and vanished to the right, Wolf leaned his chair back, letting it recline as much as it was able in the space he had. There was a second seat behind him, but he never flew with anyone else and that seat was even harder to recline than his own. As he drifted off, he heard a beeping on his console again and one of his eyes peeked open. Glancing down at the screen, he realized he must have triggered the autopilot with his feet in his sleep. He sat up and stretched again as he woke up a bit more and examined his computer. "So, we've reached our destination, where are we?" He asked aloud as he began to type in the layout for his coordinates.

The planet below looked familiar, a mesh of blue and swirling greens down below that gave him an immediate reminder. The last time he was out here was when his ship was damaged and he had to land it for repairs. Had he really been asleep for that long?

"What is the time?" He asked aloud.

"Zero-seven-twenty." The computer's voice responded. He'd been asleep for nearly six hours in the blink of an eye. "Latest flight-track coordinates have been reached."

"I can see that." Wolf added. He'd forgotten he had set this planet as a flight point; it had been nearly three months since he'd visited and found the samurai rabbit named Usagi Yojimbo, but he had not updated his previous flight point since departing from there. He leaned forward and typed in the familiar commands to begin a landing; as long as he was there, he may as well land, get some water and perhaps visit an old...'friend'." He grinned a bit in anticipation of having fortunately found a place where he could have an ally that he didn't also have to work with. As the ship broke the atmosphere, the vibrations began to work in on Wolf's nerves and as he came to a clear point amidst the vast forest that seemed to cover about three-quarters of the planet, he watched the trees wave in response to his landing jets, the entire area pushing away from his ship as it came to a rest. As the hatch popped open, the rush of cool air invigorated him and he inhaled it deeply before unstrapping and climbing out of his seat. The horizon was obscured on all sides by treetops, and the area he was in had about fifty meters on all sides before being taken by the forest's borders. Wolf climbed down the ladder to escape the ship and stretched his back to the point that several pops relieved him of several hours of sitting down. The sound of wildlife in the distance was different than he remembered hearing in his previous visit. He raised his wrist computer and tapped in a few commands. "Let's see, how far am I from where I visited last time..." He muttered to himself as the mapping system came up and indicated his own location as a blue flashing light, a quick scan showed his previous visit by a red blinking zone. "Not bad, only about fifty miles." He said. "The question is, would my little rabbit friend know that I'm back?"

"Are you talking to yourself?"

The voice jarred Wolf's attention from his wrist computer and he spun around, searching for the voice's source. Looking up, he spotted the familiar white rabbit crouched on the wing of his ship, staring down at him. The man's dual blades strapped across his back, jutting out to the side as though they had been stabbed through his body from this angle. Usagi Yojimbo had not changed in the months since Wolf's departure, and he still had that strange look of curiosity about him. As Wolf's heart returned to its natural beat he breathed out a sigh. "How long have you been there?"

"Oh not long." Usagi said as he stood and leaped from the wing, landing on the ground beside the canine with the slightest of grunts. "This is an interesting vessel you travel in." He said. "It would be impossible not to notice it flying in."

"I was hoping you'd see it."

"My entire village saw it." Usagi scoffed. "But while they sought immediate shelter, I made myself look insane by rushing to investigate it."

"Ah. I understand, you don't get many inter-planetary visitors."

"You... fly this thing?" Usagi asked, looking the machine over somewhat thoroughly.

Wolf nodded. "Yes. That was what it was built for." He said.

"Huh." The rabbit sounded somewhat dubious. "It is strange that you would travel to a world like this, not once but twice." He looked at the wolf. "Are there many worlds like this out there?"

"There are many different worlds." Wolf said. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with an idea. "Say, would you like to visit some of them?"

"Really?" The rabbit made a humming sound as he rubbed his chin. "I-I don't know, we rabbits started out by burrowing in the ground, perhaps flying is not meant for us."

Wolf smirked. "Well, perhaps I can help by lifting your feet?" Usagi's expression remained as stagnant as it could, but the wolf could smell the heat rise in his face. "C'mon, let's try it out. I know a good planet only a couple light years away, we can be there and back in less than a day."

"You can travel that quickly?" Usagi asked. "I would not think it possible."

"Come on then." Wolf said, leaning against the ladder that extended up to his cab. "Let me show you the stars, Usagi."

Usagi nodded and at Wolf's gesture, began to ascend the ladder. Wolf headed up after him and he was more pleased that Usagi had found the second seat automatically as he slid into the pilot's chair. He pressed a few buttons and immediately, the hatch snapped down over them. "Hang on to your ears, bunny." He said as he activated his engines, and with one forceful shot into the air, the thrusters kicked in and almost instantly the blue sky had become a sea of stars.

Usagi placed his face against the hatch window and watched as the green and blue ball of his world quickly shrank down under them. He was amazed; the sudden acceleration did not make him sick and the dizziness from the lower gravity only made him close his eyes and enjoy the head rush. He watched as Wolf input some data into the console in front of him and he sat back, resting his muscular arms on the armrests at either side of his seat. "Course set in, we will be there in two hours." He turned in the chair to face the rabbit. "How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly...exhilarated." Usagi admitted. "I've often looked at the stars over my world, but now to be travelling through them like one swims in an ocean...I am rather excited."

"Heh. Wait until I introduce you to the rest of my squad, they are going to wonder where an adorable thing like you comes from."

Usagi's excitement drew a significant pause. "I--do not intend on staying out here, if that is what you are implying, Wolf."

Wolf's expression slightly changed, as if unphased by that. "Oh. Yes, I knew that." He chuckled. "But you could always change your mind, right?"

The rabbit frowned. "I have my own duties on my world, just as I'm sure you have your own. I cannot simply abandon my people, I protect them."

"From what?"

Usagi's eyes glared sternly at the wolf. "I cannot stay out here, if you do not agree, then take me back now. I am done repeating myself." As he settled back in his seat, Wolf stared at him for a moment before turning around himself.

"Fine." He said, defeated. "Then we'll just make this a quick run, shall we?" As he typed in a command though, there was a sudden spark on the console and everything suddenly went dark. "Oh what the hell..." He groaned. "I thought they had this fixed."

"What is it?" Usagi asked.

"The main console has been shorting out on me ever since my first trip to your planet." Wolf explained. "I was assured it was fixed; navigation cannot be altered, but we are still enroute to our programmed destination." He pressed the pad and a strange buzzing sound filled the cabin. "And environmentals are down, the heat from the engine will fill the cabin. Looks like we're in for a long and sweaty trip."