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CHAPTER 31 Lone Great Canine

Alone he walked though the cold streets of the empty Sector. It was hard to believe that this peaceful place was once engulfed in nothing but flames, blood and death.

Almost two years ago, the restoring and remodeling of the Sector was finally finished, but due to the extension of Canis Major, it wasn't necessary to populate it at that moment. It just waited for the day that the Evocanis population grew enough to finally reach it.

The place was kept almost in the dark, since it would be useless to spend resources in a non-inhabited Sector. Only the necessary energy was sent to irrigate vegetation zones and dose them sporadically with the much needed UV energy.

The orange furred Evocanis kept on walking through the ghost town, apparently not going anywhere. With every exhaling that he made, white vapor was expelled from his muzzle due to the coldness in which that Sector was kept. Keeping the temperature comfortable wasn't a priority since no one lived in it.

For some it would be nerve wrecking to walk though a massive, dark and completely desolated place, but this Sector was part of the young Evocani's home. Not only that, but he was born there too.

He kept on making his way into the inner depths of the Sector, and after almost two kilometers walking across the colossal corridors in which the streets of that Sector ran through, he finally made it to his destination.

Surrounded by the darkness of the Sector, in a small garden, a plaque stood firmly. What made it stand out was that it was permanently lit.

The lone Evocanis walked close to the plaque and placing his hand-paw over it, he sat on the ground for a minute or two. The place was kept at a higher temperature to keep the foliage in good conditions, but the young male Evocanis didn't really care about the temperature. He was there for something else.

"I am sorry..." He whispered to the plaque. "We have failed." He then closed his eyes, as if going through a lot of pain about something that had happened to him recently.

"But I will not rest until I find what happened to you." The orange Evocanis kept on talking to the plaque. Many names were carved on it, but there were two that he kept on caressing with his fingers.

"You gave me life. You watched over me and protected me until the very last moment. It is my duty as your son, Fibi and Xy."

"You were here, brother." A voice startled the young orange Evocanis. Someone had been following him.

"Husky?" The orange Evocanis asked when he saw the familiar black and white Siberian husky Evocanis. It was his brother. "What are you doing here?"

"I have to ask you the same thing, FX." Husky approached FX and sat next to him. He saw the well known plaque. Many Sectors had these plaques that were made to honor the fallen in the attacks to Canis Major. Hundreds of names carved into them of the ones whose lives were taken, or the ones that were ripped apart from their home to never be seen again.

"I thought it was strange that you suddenly left the complex without saying where you were going." Husky confronted his brother. "You've been acting strange these last days, so I was curious to know what was going on. That's the reason why I didn't stop you and instead, decided to follow you."

"Aren't we all acting strange, Husky...?" FX replied. He kept on staring at the plaque. "We almost died a few days ago. The D.E Project was a failure, and the Retcans are now leaving us."

"We are going to be alright, brother. Just hang in there. We have what we need to survive." Husky tried to soothe his brother. He wasn't sure about what was going on with FX, but it was obvious that something had been affecting him since the incident.

"I'm sorry, Husky. I've been hiding my real intentions." FX said. He now stood up and rested his arm on the plaque as he stared seriously at Husky.

"You see," FX continued "I had my reasons to join the D.E Project. More than just something that started as curiosity."

"What are you talking about?"

"My objectives were to turn into a permanent D.E so I could fulfill my destiny."

"FX..." Husky was perplexed. His brother was always so calm and never showed any signs of hiding anything from them. This was not the FX that he knew and loved.

"I need to find them, Husky..." FX again placed his hand over the two names that were already known by Husky.

"So that was it?" A voice echoed behind them. Another Evocanis had been following them as well. "Why didn't you tell me this, FX?" A female husky in a red hoodie approached the two of them.

"Hasky... I..." FX stuttered. "I... I'm sorry..."

The female husky approached the young orange Evo and held him in a tight hug. FX had his eyes wide open, fearful of Hasky's reactions towards his the real intentions regarding the D.E Project.

"I'm sorry, Hasky. You are my mother, and no one else." Fx told her. His voice now weakened. "But understand that it is my duty as their son. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid that I might've hurt you..."

"It's ok..." Hasky hushed Fx. "You know that Husky and I will always be with you. We might not be of your blood and flesh, but we would give our lives for you. You will have our permanent support, no matter what."

"That's right, brother." Husky said. "You should've told us. I now feel like I didn't take my place in the D.E Project as seriously as I could. If I would've known this, I would've put all my effort into it." Husky closed in to both.

"I just want to know..." Fx confessed. He wasn't able to hold his tears anymore. "I just want to know if they made it so I can put an end to this. You two are everything to me, Husky and Hasky, but I owe these two my existence. They would've done the same for me."

Husky and Hasky didn't find the right words. In their minds, this had also been a major concern.

"I've always though about Chuksha too. It's something that has obscured my existence ever since I knew of him." Husky confessed to the surprise of Hasky and Fx. "Fx is right, Hasky. I think we can't stay here not doing anything while not only our family members, but also our brothers and sisters might be alive, held imprisoned who knows where."

"Husky, Fx, listen to me!" Hasky told them. She appeared irritated, something that it was not common on her. "This feeling has invaded many of use since that day. But we can't let it control our existence. We don't even know if they are still alive."

"Yes," Hasky continued. "We have to figure out a way to find what ever happened to them, but understand how difficult this would be. This means that we would have to face the machines by ourselves. Any wrong choice and not only we could end up dead, but also our lost brothers."

Hasky... I haven't forgotten our promise. Whatever happens to Canis Major, I will survive...

Hasky hesitated for a second. A voice of her past resonated in her memories once again. The flashback of a brown husky looking at her for the last time haunted her. It was a reality that she once tried to keep at bay, for the sake of their present and future.

"Come on. Let's get back to H2. Silver will give us their last words in a minute. There are a lot of things that we have to worry about right now. We need to set our priorities straight."

The two huskies and the orange Evocanis made their way out of the lonely sector into the tram station. A long travel awaited them before they could reach their home.

That day, the Retcans were facing their inevitable destiny. That day would be the day that they would set course to their home world, Lusceonis; a moment that they dreaded dearly.

In the past week, they had been giving the Evocanis last instructions on their new defense systems, as well as transferring the D.E cruisers that were still unfinished, to the industrial docks in Canis Major.

Somehow this felt wrong. The Evocanis were capable of finishing the ships, but it wouldn't be easy for them. And what worried the Retcans the most is that their friends weren't really ready to organize their defenses and the D.E Project. Yes, they would be capable eventually, but the Retcans felt that it was their duty to finish what they started.

In a solitary lounge in R105, a female Retcan watched over Canis Major through the massive window. At the distance she could see a huge black mass that obscured her vision of the stars.

Behind her, through the reflection of the window, she could see a white furred Retcan and a blue furred one approaching her.

"Captain Silver?" The white male Retcan spoke.

It did take long for the lone Retcan to respond.

"I am not a Captain anymore, Bo." She replied with a silent and sorrowful tone.

"You will always be our Captain." The female blue Retcan replied. There was no response from Silver.

"Listen," Bo said as he approached Silver. "Everything is ready now. You should go and start your speech." He said. He laid his arm across her.

"I guess there is no choice. The moment has finally come." Silver said.

"Do we really have to do this, Silver?" Cobalt the blue Retcan asked.

"I am not the one you should ask, Cobalt."

"I was not asking you directly, but all of us, as a race."

"Cobalt is right, Silver" Bo agreed. "We have lost our capability of knowing what we are really doing out here. What difference would it make if we stay?"

"You are right about something. We have lost the ability to discern from logic. The Great War has obscured our judgment, and for this we have paid dearly. But we have to do what's right and return to Lusceonis." Silver concluded.

"That's it?" Cobalt confronted her. "You are talking about what's right and you think that leaving the Evocanis is the right choice?"

"It's not like I have an option, Cobalt! I promised that I would take care of this ship and return it safe when our mission concluded."

"You promised that, I know. But the council said nothing about us." Confusing words came from Cobalt.

"What do you mean? I promised that my crew would return safe too. And with Zonda and Alpha's... death..." Silver took some time to continue. "...I have failed."

"Their deaths were not your fault, Silver. Yet, it is not what I meant."

Cobalt and Bo looked at each other as if they agreed on something. They were looking for the strength to tell Silver what their ideas were.

"I am not..." Bo spoke. He hesitated, but finally told Silver his intentions. "I am not going back to Lusceonis. I will stay in Canis Major."

"What nonsense are you saying, Bo?" Silver confronted her son.

"He's not staying alone." Cobalt continued. "I'm staying too."

"Have both of you lost your minds?" Silver sounded irritated, but at the same time confused.

"Is there really something that you can do to avoid it?" Cobalt once again confronted her former Captain. "Silver, you know that the Evocanis still need us. They are strong and intelligent, but they still need help on organizing themselves."

"Oh, so you and Bo plan to organize the D.E Project for them? Cobalt, you are an Engineering Scientist. You do know about systems and computers, but what do you know about building and preparing defense ships? And you, Bo; you know basically nothing about this."

"Well, I've learned a couple of things! Being by your side all these years has taught me a lot about leadership. I can transfer that to them. Besides, It's our technology what they are using, so they might as well have a Retcan that can orient them through the right path."

"And how do you plan on doing this? How do you plan on organizing everything by yourselves? Do you even know how to start the D.E Project again?" Silver confronted them.

"It's better than just abandoning them so they can figure it out by themselves." A deep voice echoed behind them.

Into the room, a brown Retcan walked in a slow and determined pace. A black furred Retcan walked besides him.

"That's why I'm staying too." A stoic looking Retcan with a penetrating gaze looked down at Silver. He reminded Silver of her lost comrades, Alpha and Zonda.

"Shadow..." Silver whispered to the taller Retcan.

"Other than being my home and where my brothers and sister Retcans are, I have nothing left back in Lusceonis. The Evocanis need all the help they can get to organize their defense squadrons." Shadow firmly spoke to Silver.

"Shadow, but..." Silver hesitated.

"This is my life, Silver. I am a Retcan warrior and war strategist. This is what I love; what I do. What I was denied to continue after the injuries that the Great War left me. What better individual than me?"

Silver understood what her old friend was telling her. Shadow was once the highest rank official in the Retcan army; the one who had once trained Zonda and Alpha. His squad was the one that ultimately lead their race to their victory many decades ago, leaving him crippled permanently after he miraculously survived severe injuries. Shadow was a legend that now was confined to a minor duty as the main hangar operator. It was an important task, but not what he was used to do.

"If that's your choice, I will accept it, my friend." Silver finally agreed. "But you Storm?" She then directed to the young black furred Retcan. "Your mother and sister are waiting for you back home."

"I know." The soft voiced Retcan replied. "But they know that I have a duty to comply with. They didn't always agree with my decision of joining R105, but at the end they told me that they were proud of me. Besides, the D.E Cruisers and other Wolf models are my prototypes. I am the only one who fully understands these ship's capabilities. They will need my help to finish building them."

"I see..." Silver understood. "I have no reasons to stop you then."

"Shadow and I have become great friends. I see him as a father. I will not feel alone as long as we are together." Storm concluded.

"But you two," Silver now directed to Cobalt and Bo. "You can't stay."

"You can't stop us, Silver." Bo confronted her.

Bo wouldn't give. Somehow, he felt this was the only thing that he could do to keep the Retcan-Evocanis bond tied. If he stayed, there was a chance that Retcan and Evocanis would never separate from each other. It was a way to assure both species' future. Silver knew this, and although it would be painful to leave her son behind, she knew that it was the best thing to do.

He's smart. He knows how to take the right sacrifices. He's just like you, Kassaar.

"I won't stop you then. But know that I can't stay with you. I have to return this ship and apologize to our brothers for the mistakes that I have done. I won't be granted the right to exit Lusceonis again, so I won't be able to come back for you."

"It's ok, Silver. It's not like we can't return by ourselves."

Bo and Silver gave each other the warmest mother-and-son hug that they have given each other since they first boarded R105.

It was a very emotive moment, obscured by the fact that they would be separated indefinitely from now on.

Suddenly, a call from R105's bridge interrupted them.

"Yes Commander?" Cobalt replied to her ComPod. The blue Retcan appeared serious. "I understand..." She continued as she walked away.

Silver, Bo, Storm and Shadow kept on talking about their future, when suddenly they heard Cobalt loose her composure.

"She is here, yes." Cobalt asserted as she stared right into Silver's eyes. Silver noticed a huge concern in Cobalt's eyes.

"How is that possible?" Cobalt whispered, almost falling to her knees. This startled the small group.

"We will be at the bridge right away, Commander Titan."

Cobalt ended the communication, but her tears were evidence that something big had happened.

"What's wrong, Cobalt?" Silver demanded to know.

Words didn't come out from Cobalt for a moment. She even dropped her ComPod to the floor while looking for the best way to tell them what she was just informed.

"Titan needs us at the bridge... Someone has sent us a message from an unknown location... The sender has identified himself as Zonda." Cobalt continued. "He said that he barely managed to survive... Alpha didn't make it though..."