FSE

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Eliminate Yukiomaru Alexander. That is my mission. I was chosen because I'm the only one who can succeed!

Mist swirled around the fox, slowly falling toward the ground and spreading like an aggressive fog. It spread over their boots and covered the frozen sand completely.

Golden vulpine eyes stared across those who remained in the squadron, and even though the gaze wasn't in his direction, the wolf felt those eyes pierce through him. The gaze itself immobilized him, and slowed time itself. Unexpectedly, the fox slowly smiled.

Move, move, move, move! Calvin demanded of his body but his arms couldn't raise his weapon. Eliminate Yukiomaru Alexander if he's been infected.

How can he not be infected? Calvin argued with himself. The slightest doubt stalled all his actions, disabling him from acting while the fox fully wakened.

"Damn you!"

A scream grabbed the attention of the whole squad and they all turned to see the infected hatchling charging at every soldier nearby, intent on killing them all. He watched one of the soldiers pull a sword by instinct as slash the Velmarian's paw, but it didn't even cut the creature. The hatchling continued and elbowed the shoulder in the neck, shattering the armor and breaking the bones.

The wolf acted on instinct, his actions obeying his commands instantly this time. Adrenaline gave speed to his movements as he snapped up his rifle at the hatchling and fired repeatedly. The creature was less than three meters away but dodged each projectile and lunged at the wolf.

Calvin barely dodged, feeling the claws shred his armor like it was made of paper. He counterattacked by pulling a sword from his belt and swinging it at the neck of the creature. Ducking its head, as if it could sense the blade, the hatchling dodged the attack and counterattacked by kicking Calvin in the midsection.

Armor and ribs cracked under the impact, throwing Calvin painfully back several meters. Blood filled his lungs, causing him to cough it on the inside of his visor.

Impossible!

Ignoring the pain, the wolf rose to one knee and took out his sidearm. He took aim at the hatchling one final time but it was already lunging at him, going straight for his neck. His paw painfully squeezed his weapon.

Too fast!

Other squadron members were firing at it but Calvin watched the creature move faster than the bullets and projectiles. Eyes wide, Calvin saw the green tint in the creature's eyes, filled with rage. Its mouth was open, eager for the wolf's blood.

A white paw smashed into the hatchlings cheek. The force of the impact threw the hatchling to the ground several meters away. In its place, Calvin saw the naked back of the arctic fox, his tail swaying lightly in the wind.

Yukiomaru...?

Time resumed its normal rate and Calvin saw the hatchling struggle to stand, a claw on its cheek, where blood was spilling. His lip was quivering in a vicious snarl, its green eyes locked directly on the white fox. Without any indication, the hatchling sprung at the fox with the same speed it used to attack Calvin.

Pain overwhelmed the wolf's adrenaline and senses, causing his vision to blur and making it difficult to track the hatchlings movements. However, he did manage to see the white fox block the first attack with one paw, spin and counterattack with a kick directed at the head of the infected hatchling.

The kick was blocked, and the hatchling thrust its claws forward at the fox's chest but it was dodged when he sidestepped. The arctic fox's tail spun around like a ribbon as he spun, attacked, dodged and counterattacked, unable to land a hit but was not hit either.

Calvin felt two sets of paws grab his shoulders and hoist him up, causing excruciating pain. He screamed, and tried to steady himself on his hindpaws while Gabe and Captain Dewitt held him up. He then noticed the others trying to save those who were hit by the hatchling, and gain some distance from the fight.

The sun broke through the clouds overhead as the storm was breaking up finally, even though Calvin could still feel the coldness seeping into his armor through its cracks. The flower that Yukiomaru emerged from was now dying under the sun's thawing rays.

Before the squadron could act any more, they heard the hatchling scream painfully. Yukiomaru had just landed a kick across the side of its head and it was struggling to stand again a few meters away. The fox obviously landed more hits that Calvin didn't even see land since the hatchling was covered in scratches and bruises now. Yukiomaru looked as if he wasn't even touched.

They stared at each other for a while, until the hatchling spat out a mouthful of blood. "You bested me this time," it spoke, glaring at Yukiomaru. "We lost the last war against your kind, we won't lose again. I will make sure of that."

The last war? Calvin repeated in his mind. Before he could give it a second though, the hatchling turned and fled into the field of flower bulbs that littered the landscape. The temperature was rising quickly due the clouds breaking up.

"Yuki?" Jun, after removing his helmet, approached the fox slowly.

We don't know if he's been infected! Calvin wanted to scream but he lacked any way to communicate with his armor shattered.

The fox turned and smiled at the marten but it quickly faded. His golden eyes rolled and sealed behind his eyelids again before Yukiomaru collapsed to the ground.

"Yukio!"

The marten ran over to the fox, caution forgotten, and he gently shook the fox with an armored paw.

The other marten had removed her helmet and approached the collapsed fox as well. After checking the fox's vitals, she leaned back. "He's alive, Jun," she said, patting her brother. "He's exhausted though so we should get him back to the ships."

"All right," Commander Cassander said, stepping forward. "Gather the wounded. We're heading back to the ships and getting off this rock."

"Yes sir!" several of them shouted. Calvin watched Jun pick up the arctic fox and carry him back toward them all.

He still might be infected, Calvin knew but for now he was more worried about getting back to the ships before he bled out.

The squadron started to move but slowed once they realized several of the flower bulbs were dying, and those that weren't, were hatching.

"Enemy contacts! Lieutenant Sherman, guard the Admiral" Captain Dewitt yelled, passing Calvin over to his spotter. "Open fire!" Several shots rang out as the roughly infected hosts emerged from their pods. The parasite controlling them was desperate and used even those bodies that had been mostly decomposed.

The desperate act only served to slow them and the squadron continued to move, leaving behind six dead who were killed by the hatchling creature. Above them accompanied thousands of fireballs falling toward the ground. It was impossible to know whose ships they were from but the battle overhead was drawing to a close, one way or another. Fire and smoke filled the sky from horizon to horizon, and the ground started to shake from the impacts.

Commander Cassander had called the dropships to meet them at a closer location, and they soon arrived after a flashy display of destroying the pods and the infections that emerged from them. The ships landed, and Calvin was carried toward them but before he could arrive, he heard an ear-piercing shriek echo across the landscape.

The ground shook more violently than it had been. Looking toward the horizon at the forest that Calvin crashed in, he saw fire rise toward the sky and consume the forest. The ground continued to shake roughly as fire could be seen rising on all the horizons.

They're bombing the planet while we're still on it!

The vibrations through the sand caused the pain of the wolf's broken ribs to flare up again, making his eyes tear up and he nearly passed out. He waited on the drop ship, still without seeing a medic, but once the drop ship's engines roared to life and rocketed toward the sky, the pain reached a new height causing the wolf to howl in pain until he passed out.

Opening his eyes, the wolf felt the presence of drugs blurring his vision and numbing his body. The blinding light made it difficult for him to open his eyes. It took several minutes for him to realize he was in a medical wing, of a familiar ship.

"Captain Redding," a familiar voice said. "It looks like you're finally ready to wake up."

Calvin slowly sat up, but the pain in his chest made it difficult even if it was dulled by the medication. There was no one around other than the medical equipment and the glass walls that failed to hide the white walls beyond.

Drach'n Fury?

"Welcome back, Captain Redding," Fury's voice said again through the speakers. "You've been unconscious for two days now. All but two of your ribs on your left side were broken; two of them were pressed against your lung. After surgery, we managed to straighten them back out and you're well on your way to recovery."

Calvin pressed his paw to his head, fighting off the affects of the drugs and the pain but they were both persistent. He noticed his armor and clothes were missing due to the coldness in the medical wing but it was nowhere near as cold as the storm was even with his armor on.

What am I doing on Drach'n Fury_?_

"Commander Cassander has been informed that you're awake," Fury continued. "She awaits you in the conference room. I have someone coming to escort you."

Painfully Calvin stood up and walked toward the exit of the medical bay.

"Captain Redding," Gale's voice said, walking into the medical wing. "You're awake. I'll help you to the Commander."

With the hare's assistance, they made it to the conference even if it took twice as long as it normally would have. Once inside, he noticed that he must have been the last to arrive. Commander Cassander, her officers and the civilian Tang were already seated around the table. With them was a elderly fox, accompanied by five familiar wolves, two familiar Velmarians, and half a dozen of his own officers.

Calvin was surprised to see the fox, who could have only been Lead General Vale. He was also worried and surprised that neither Admiral Alexander nor the marten's younger brother was not present at the table.

"Captain Redding, Sergeant Bracken, please have a seat," Commander Cassander said, gesturing toward two open seats. "General Vale?"

"I'm Lead General Vale," the fox said, standing from his seat. "Commanding officer of the fleet who met the Creeper assault wave at the Black Line. I'm here to inform you that our allies mysteriously withdrew from the battle and our defeat followed shortly afterward. We were cut off from Canidera, and since then the alien forces have pursued us. That's when Velmarian rebels also attacked us and where we met Empress Theta and her fleet. Then we met Sergeant Wolcott, and his pack, commanding a destroyer that held a chemical compound designed to kill the Creepers. Unfortunately some of the civilians that they rescued were exposed and fell ill which tells us that the compound is still incomplete. We believe Madam Fa had created a similar compound and with both researches combined, we were able to make a more successful poison. It is still too risky to use on our home planets though."

"We heard the distress call from Pilot Gerbo," continued the fox. "We searched for the pilot, but we only found his crashed ship on a barren planet. We do not know his fate but we quickly moved on to assaulting Velmaria when we heard the battle reports of your fleet already engaging the enemy. When we arrived, I allowed all our ships to use full weapons, which we were reserving, to destroy the alien presence and bombard the planet. Velmaria is gone now."

"Unfortunate," muttered the Velmarian who called herself Empress. "I had hope to rescue my home but one of the rebel factions tried to collect samples of the alien so they could attempt to use it as a weapon. Instead they doomed our planet and we were unable to strike while the infection was still small. I take full responsibility for my people's actions, as I was not capable of controlling them."

"That's unnecessary, Empress Theta," Commander Cassander said. "We need your help to save our worlds, where your people originated from. We do not blame you, or your people for the horror that has befell on us. According to our Guardian ambassador, the aliens attacked us far more aggressively than they have ever done before. The creature on the surface of Velmaria also thought we fought before so the alien parasite is confusing us with someone else they consumed. For now, we must regroup at home and muster our forces. The war has changed in our favor."

"You do not command this ship, Commander," Fury's voice interrupted. "Nor do you, General Vale. I allow you to be on this ship but if you dare start giving commands, I'll force you all off of it."

"We cannot risk losing our momentum now, Fury," Commander Cassander stated, frustrated by the interruption. "And you're not supposed to be listening in."

"Admiral Yukiomaru Alexander commands this ship," Fury said, calmly. "Until he commands me otherwise, I will partake in no mission ordered by any of you."

Still malfunctioning or is this a legitimate choice of the AI? Calvin thought, listening to the Commander argue.

"That's enough, Commander," General Vale said, speaking up. "This is Fury's ship so we cannot argue. He's made his choice. For now, we're heading home to liberate it and our new compound we have should do the trick. Our mission is to evacuate everyone off the planet, and use the compound. It will significantly harm the ecosystems but it should also destroy the local infestation. We'll use armored personnel to ensure that it does, and once the alien presence is removed, we'll establish a new base and move to liberate Fellorian and Lutracha."

That's our mission then, realized Calvin. He glanced over at the Velmarians. We're making allies with our old enemies so that we can save our planets. It may be our only shot at winning against the alien parasite. Fury isn't going to help us.

"Before we finish up," continued General Vale. "I have a few more announcements to make to commend the actions of everyone here. Commander Cassander, for your excellent defense of our home world, and outstanding capabilities for commanding a fleet, you are promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral."

The fox continued to go around, promoting several of them, including the wolf pack. Calvin was one of the last to receive his promotion to the rank of Major.

A move to boost moral, he thought, but smiled at the promotion nevertheless.

"Congratulations," Fury said, interrupting again. "Now that you're meeting is done, I need for only my original crew to remain. It's too risky having so many officers on one ship."

With that the meeting came to an end, and most of the crew left the ship, leaving hardly a dozen left on Drach'n Fury.