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Silence filled the halls of Drach'n Fury, especially near the bridge and the Admiral's quarters. Under the watchful eye of Fury, it seemed that no sound could lift from the floor because of the freezing temperature.

Stepping lightly through the frozen halls, the marten did his best to ignore the cold and the advice Fury had passed along.

"The Admiral doesn't want any visitors," Fury had told him before he entered the officer's section of the ship. The artificial intelligence had the bow of the ship sealed off since Yukiomaru retreated there after waking up in the medical bay.

Jun had been refused by the artificial intelligence before but now the sealed doors slid apart before him. The marten he doubted it was because the Lead General was pressuring him to perform tests on the fox, because Fury had already defied the General numerous times.

Entering the Admiral's quarters, Jun didn't feel the temperature rise as it stayed around the freezing point. He instantly noticed the soft instrumental and vocal music playing inside the room, along with how the lights have been dimmed.

On the large bed, Jun spotted the young fox lying with his tail curled around and covering most of his naked body. He rested with his jaw resting on his folded arms, staring at a corner of the room. The only response to Jun's presence was the flitching of one of his ears but otherwise his ears focused on the music, and his eyes remained fixed on the dark corner.

The music almost sounded like a lament but it was peaceful. Yukiomaru's calm expression matched the music; he was in a deep thought about something that caused him grief but was more burdened by it rather than bothered. The only movement the fox made was an occasional blink.

Silently Jun slowly walked over to the fox's bed, being tracked by one of his white ears. The marten sat down next to the fox, but he didn't even receive a glance from the fox. Yukiomaru nearly slid toward the depression in the bed but managed to stay put, his only response to Jun's presence was the flicker of his eyes.

Gently Jun ran the tips of his claws through the fox's fur on the nape of his neck. Yukiomaru took a deep breath and let it out in a quiet sigh at the touch. Being allowed by the fox, Jun continued to comb his claws through his fur until that fox rolled over and looked directly at Jun for the first time since he had entered the room.

Thinking of the right words to say, Jun stared back into the golden eyes of the fox but didn't receive a chance to say something first.

"Jun Fa..." the fox started to say but his words fell silent. His expression looked like he was thinking of what to say, and that he didn't really believe the marten was there.

"Are you cold, Yukiomaru?" Jun asked, smiling friendly at Yukiomaru. He seems troubled; maybe traumatized by being held by the Creepers.

"No," Yukiomaru answered bluntly but his expression lightened up slightly. The temperature was freezing but it was true that Yukiomaru didn't look cold in the slightest. "Can... What is my name, Jun Fa?"

The question shocked him, but Jun answered. "Yukiomaru Alexander, rank of Admiral in the United Defense of All Species. Commanding officer of this ship, Drach'n Fury and second in command of the only surviving military forces at our race."

Yukiomaru's expression betrayed that he already knew his name, but just needed a confirmation. The fox rolled into his original position with his tail curled around him. "Surviving forces..." he mumbled. The fox faced away from Jun and rested his head on his folded arms again, staring off into the corner. "Why are there 'survivors' of our race? What happened?"

Does he not remember everything that's happened? Jun stared at the fox for a moment before he answered. "Our defenses were defeated by an alien parasite that we refer to as 'Creepers'. They invaded our planet but we've been fighting since the invasion to keep our home. Do-do you not remember what happened?"

Yukiomaru didn't answer. He continued to stare blankly at the dark corner of the room for a minute.

Since he didn't receive an immediate answer, Jun resumed combing his claws through Yukiomaru's fur. He remembers my name, how can he not remember the battles throughout the invasion?

"I remember, Jun," he finally answered. "I just don't know which memories are real. If me and you being in this room right now is real or just a dream."

"A dream?"

"And if this isn't a dream then that means all my past failures really happened," continued the fox. "My inadequacies are the reasons why you refer to our race as 'survivors' instead of being part of a culture that is a model example compared to all the others in this universe."

We only have the Velmarians to compare to, Jun thought. He was legitimately surprised by what the fox was saying.

"What's the last thing you remember?" asked Jun after the fox had fallen silent.

The fox sighed heavily and reluctantly answered. "The last thing I remember in this body... was me trying to atone for my failures by leading a rescue team to the surface of our home planet. There was a city burning around me while I don't know if anything happened after that. Maybe that's when I started..."

"Remember the alien ambassador, Velsh'nark? He mentioned that Aggressor has been invading civilizations for tens of thousands of years. He outsmarted all of those civilizations and destroyed them all, but you burned that creature to ashes; and in doing so, you saved our civilization. You have no failures to regret, Yukiomaru."

Yukiomaru absorbed the words from Jun but he didn't respond until he asked: "What happened to me?"

"There's a form of an infection that has proven to be incredibly dangerous," Jun answered, worrying that his reassurances had no affect on the fox. "After your burned Aggressor, this infection of a Velmarian hatchling caught us all off guard and captured you. It's been nine months since anyone has last seen you until we found you in that flower prison on Velmaria."

Music continued to fill the room as if the instruments were being played right there. Yukiomaru had closed his eyes while he listened to the music and rested his eyes. This time the marten kept his silence as well and merely petted the fox's neck and shoulders. He could feel the fox taking slow and deep breaths, but his breaths fell out of rhythm as they became faster and more erratic.

Glancing around at the fox's expression, he could see tears leaking from the fox's closed eyes. The sight caused Jun's heart to sink.

"Yukiomaru," he whispered. He stood and kneeled in front of the fox, and gently wiped away the tears from the fox's eyes. He's placing all the blame on himself.

The fox started to bare his teeth as he fought back the tears but a few sobs leaked out from him. Jun pet the top of Yukiomaru's head, pressing back his ears before closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against the fox's. The sobs calmed while Yukiomaru fought harder to gain control of himself until eventually they became nothing more than quiet sniffles while his eyes continued to flow with tears.

Removing his forehead from Yukiomaru's, the marten licked above the fox's eye before leaning back.

"No one blames you, Yukiomaru," he said quietly, staring at the fox's closed and tear-filled eyes. "We risked everything to find you and get you back because without you, we're certainly doomed. Your officers, especially Yelena Cassander, fought hard to find you, even after other officials who only knew you as the savior of our race condemned them. For me personally, I was lost without you Yukiomaru. Without you, all I could think about was claiming my revenge."

Yukiomaru's breathing returned to normal and he blinked a few times before opening his eyes. His eyes remained sad but he smiled at Jun.

"I am glad that you are here, Jun Fa," he said, pushing himself up with his paws. Sitting up, he crossed his legs and looked straight ahead at Jun now that they were at the same eye level. "Thank you, my friend. I'm glad Fury let you in but he must have had a reason so how can I be of help?"

"I was growing irritated with Fury denying me from seeing you," Jun answered, smiling now that the fox was actually starting to feel better. "It made it easier to persuade him when he's been relaying the messages of Lead General Vale pressuring Commander Cassander and I to test your blood for infections."

"Lead General Vale," repeated Yukiomaru, thinking on the familiar name. "I understand his position. I'm actually surprised that he didn't pressure you more to get the blood samples of someone who's been held by the enemy for so long. Go ahead."

The fox turned to face away from the marten, exposing his neck. Jun didn't want to cause him any more discomfort than needed so he hurried and pulled out a blood collection kit from his pocket.

"We had blood samples taken while you were unconscious but since we knew you were on our side we tested for your health instead of an infection," Jun informed the fox while he sterilized a spot his neck before inserting a needle linked to a vial. It instantly started to fill with the fox's red blood. "Tang did notice a few anomalies in your blood but wasn't able to tests them before the sample was used up."

With the vial filled with the dark red liquid, Jun sealed the vial and removed the needle before applying a clay-like cream to the puncture in the fox's neck. Without another drop of blood spilling, the fox combed his fur back into place with his claws and looked back at the marten.

"We didn't see that hatchling after I stabbed it through the neck for months so an infection could take just as long to manifest," said Yukiomaru, knowing full well that he was still vulnerable to the infection. "If an infection manifests within me, I will destroy it. Inform Tang to update me on what she finds in my blood."

"I have to get these samples back to her as soon as possible," Jun said, standing up so he was now standing over the fox. "Welcome back, Yukiomaru. I missed you." Jun turned toward the exit of the Admiral's room.

"Jun," Yukiomaru said before he could walk out. The fox had stood from the bed and started to gather clothes before heading toward the shower. "Meet me on the bridge in an hour."

"Yes sir," Jun answered with a smile before the fox disappeared into his private restroom. The marten turned and left the room, retreating from the coldness that filled the bow of the ship.

Even after he returned the warmer corridors, they were still empty. Most of Drach'n Fury's crew was dead or still fighting on Canidera now. Yukiomaru would have to gather his old crew back so he can command the ship sufficiently for the war.

The first person that he saw since Yukiomaru was his sister in the laboratory. Tang was filing information on her PawPad when Jun entered but she set the device down and turned toward her brother.

"Yukiomaru allowed me to get a sample," he said, handling the red vial to his sister.

"I'll start analyzing it right away," she said accepting the vial from him. She immediately used a syringe to extract some of the blood from the vial. "How is he?"

"He's burdened by everything that's happened," answered Jun, watching his sister work. "He blames himself for the state that we're currently in. I told him that he's the reason why we're not in a worse state but I'm not sure if he listened to me or not."

"The Creepers might..." Jun slowly started to say. "...might have done something to his memory or his mind."

"What do you mean?" Tang asked, glancing at her brother and away from her work for a moment.

"He said he's confused on which memories are real," answered Jun. "That whatever he thinks he's gone through felt as real as you and me talking together right now. I didn't ask him about it but he sounds like he might have lived another life during his imprisonment."

"That is unusual," commented Tang, trying to focus on preparing the sample. "That'd be something that you could ask him about. I wouldn't be very useful there."

"Yukiomaru is ready to lead again so I don't want to bring that back up if it'll only be a setback," mentioned Jun.

"You do seem happier as well now that you've gotten to speak to him," mentioned Tang, examining the microscopic images of the fox's blood. "I need to test these a little more." She added a clear drop to the blood and again looked at the blood closer. "I am glad you're feeling better, Jun. I've been really worried about you since he had been taken."

"Sorry," said Jun. He hesitated a moment, giving Tang some time. "Thank you, Tang. For being there when..."

Tang turned in her seat and smiled at her brother. "It's what big sisters do, little brother. I will always be there to help; and if I'm not, I will always find you so that I can be there to help."

Jun smiled back at her. She returned to her work and Jun rested against one of the nearby tables while he waited. Considering everything that has been going on, Jun could say that he was feeling happy again. Not only because he now knew that those he loved were safe but because he felt a strong sense of hope that he'd be able to make it through this war with them all.

"The anomalies are Creeper based but they're working for Yukiomaru's body," Tang said after several minutes of silence passed. "It's what we expected but these cells are completely different from the other infections we've seen. Instead of acting as a parasite, they're helping the body fight of other infections. They'll require more study but I don't have much blood. One thing for certain, Yukiomaru is infected."

The news felt like a weight dropping on Jun's shoulders, even though he knew to expect it. There were a hundred theories that could explain why Yukiomaru was acting normally but there were too many uncertainties than what Jun would have preferred.

"I have a lot of tests I want to do so if you could get some more blood then that'd be great," Tang said, turning toward her brother with a smile. "It's not urgent though so go spend some time with Yukiomaru. Maybe you can find a way to ask him about this dream he might have had during those nine months inside that flower prison."