The wind whistled through the branches of the large pines. the branches creaked and somewhere in the distance a lone coyote howled a mornful note. at the base of the tree, he sat, wondering what path to take next.

" where to go from here?" he thought. " what options do i have left? Is it not enough to carry a golden heart and to wear ones self on the sleeve? all be it, i dont know what im saying anymore."

He looks around him, hearing the now silent forest around him. He stands up and grabs his black trench coat off the low branch next to him and puts it on. he stands about 6'3" tall and has mid back length black hair, pulled back into a sort of tribal braid. he has a blac pelt and faint moonsilver markings. he reaches up and brushes his bangs out of his eyes, causing them to flash Bright blue, revealing an almost catlike quality.

He sighs " well... i guess to only thing to do now is to head back to town." he turns to his right and heads back towards the path that he first came down. " i cant necessarily go back the way i came now can i? I have people counting on me." his mind wanders to his children and his mate back home, he wonders how they are doing, with him on the mission he is on. they would never know until it was too late if anything were to happen to him.

He grabs the .50cal that is proped on a tree and slings it over his shoulder, making sure it is secure.

" well better just get this over with i guess, that way i can get home and be with my family and not have to worry about this anymore." he says to himself, his tail twitching absently as he does so.

As he is walking, he hears the sounds of boots crunching on gravel behind him. He places a paw on the hilt on his tanto that is straped to his thigh. As the sound grows closer, picking up speed it seems, he spins around and in one fluid motion draws the blade, stopping it inches from the culprits neck.

" Who are you and why do you rush up on me from behind?" He growls deeply.

The owner of the footsteps trys to speak but stammers. " I-I-I....I meant-t-t no harm.....I was j-j-just trying to grab your attention...." he was an average sized Fox, probably in his late teens early twenties. By the looks of him, he was a messanger, or possibly a recon scout. He wore a military uniform or black camo, quite possibly special ops. the patch on his chest bearing the insignia of the unit he is assigned.

" forgive me sir, i meant no harm by it" he says to the man with the knife. " My name is markus, first sergeant Markus Delay." He straightens up and give him a salute.

" very well, i am Lieutenant Colonel Zennith Caitiff of the Shadow Wolf special forces brigade" replies zennith as he sheathes his blade and returns the salute. " now, speak what is it you are in such a hurry to tell me?"

Markus, hesitates for a moment before producing an official looking piece of paper from the breast pocket of his vest. " here, read this." he hands the paper over.

Zennith takes the paper and reads it twice. " what does this have to do with me? the Yanganese are not my problem here." He looks at the fox, eyeing him with caution now.

" The yanganese have decided to try and expand their operations and by doing so they have interfered with your objective." Markus replies. " we need you back on Ridorian. the general wants to personally speak to you."

Zennith looks the fox over and smiles. " very well. but you are taking me back. since you brought me this message, you are going to see the general with me."

Markus blinks as his ears twitch " Sir, I'm not sure i can do that. I was stationed here, If i leave my post ill be court marshalled"

Zennith replies, already heading back the way the fox had come. " mark, you have to remember who you are talking to, I am Zennith Vladimir Caitiff, of the First United Republic of Ridorian 's Shadow Wolf brigade. I out rank even the general himself. you will be fine, i assure you that you will get nothing short of a single rank promotion at the least."

Markus smiles and nods his head. " very well sir, just let me know when you are ready and i shall have a strike ship prepared." He salutes the wolf with the utmost respect, falling into step next to him.

Zennith smiles at the young fox, claping him on the shoulder. " Hey, no need to be so rigid, Im not as bad as my reputation says, but cross me, thats when i get upset. As long as you keep to your guns and dont cross me, we will be fine."

Markus lets out a soft laugh, picking up his comm radio from his waist. " Delta 4-7, this is Foxhound, how do you copy? over."

The radio goes silent for a moment before static is heard. " Foxhound, This is Delta 4-7, we have a solid copy, Over" says a voice on the other end. Zenniths ears perk at the sound

"Is that commander dolohov?" he asks, looking curiously at the fox for a moment.

Markus smiles and replies " yes sir, he got appointed as my ExO right after i got out of basic, he was the commanding officer of the BlackDog special forces unit to which i was assigned."

Zennith looks at markus, not quite understanding " BlackDog?" he asks. " what do you mean BlackDog?"

Markus looks at him, then begins explaining " the ShadowWolf Brigade had become such an Elite force that the councils decided to create a little brother force so to speak. Thus allowing the Shadow Wolves to be put on longer and more important missions. without affecting there records." he paused and smiled at him before continuing. " with the Advent of the Yanganese trying to spread into the colonies, there had to be a larger and more diverse force available, thus they created the BlackDog units. Although we are still no where near as selective and efficient as the Shadow wolves, we can still hold our own. I was hand selected by Commander Dolohov straight from basic."

Markus takes the radio and replies. "Delta 4-7, We have Shadow One, i am in need of a flight ready strike ship. can you get one operational before we arrive?"

The radio crackles a moment before Dolohov replies " Holy Shit, you actually found him kid? well ill be damned, hell yeah we can have the ship preped. good work markus." the radio falls silent again.

Zennith chuckles softly, " heh, thats dolohov alright, always giving me more credit than i am worth half the time." He smiles and lets his feet carry him toward his ultimate destination, The F.U.R.R. intergalactic spaceport.