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"Thank you parents, sponsors, and all guests for attending this ceremony with us. We at TriNexus are honored to have had the opportunity to mentor and collaborate with such bright and innovative minds at this year's Career Camp. Each and every participant in the program proved themselves accomplished and proficient in their respective fields. We are proud to announce that every student scored in the eightieth percentile on their final simulation exams this year."

The large room was filled with thunderous applause. The sound echoed off the wide walls and high ceiling, magnifying the eruption from the ample crowd below. Red, blue, and green banners hung vertically down from the ceiling, each displaying an emblem that corresponded to each color. Circular tables were strewn across the linoleum floor, at which hundreds of furs stood clapping wildly. At the front was a large stage decorated with more banners while a slideshow played silently depicting young furs as they did activities during the camp. On the stage, several camp representatives sat in a line of chairs while a bright orange female raccoon with yellow spiral patterns in her fur stood alone behind a podium.

Once the applause had died down and the crowd sat back down into their seats, the raccoon began speaking again.

"Such results could not have been achieved without the enthusiasm and cooperation of our participants, and for that we are deeply impressed. Our students managed to persevere through a month of hard work and challenging scenarios without fail. Congratulations, each of you, for this astounding achievement. We would also like to thank Mr. Bronovo Vellen from Allstar University for being our guest speaker this year."

A short Rottweiler from the line of furs on the stage smiled warmly and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Conro Missila, Director of the TriNexus Career Camp, will now present our honorary awards."

The audience clapped again as a large black wolf stood from his seat and made his way to the podium. The raccoon took out a manila folder and placed it on the podium before going back to her seat.

The wolf spoke. "Thank you for coming. Over the course of the four weeks camp is in session, the staff closely observes our students and how they work. Each year three participants are recognized for their outstanding qualities both in the workplace and out on the field. The first special award granted by TriNexus is the Leadership Award."

"The recipient of the Leadership Award demonstrates just what the name suggests. A natural born leader, this student led his team successfully through the Piloting Simulation on every attempt, never failing once. He was a part of the TriNexus Pilot's Club and received top marks on the final simulation at the end of the session. The recipient of this year's Leadership Award is Kuri Sonas."

The crowd cheered again as a red tiger detached from the crowd. The rather short and muscular feline made his way onto the stage smiling. He excitedly shook paws with the representatives, received his award, and sauntered back to his seat.

"The next award given by TriNexus is the Citizenship Award. This award is given to the student who demonstrates the most desirable qualities as an individual on the field. This student showed trustworthiness in the workplace and faultless obedience to superiors. This person was always loyal to her cause and did not hesitate to help out her workmates. In group projects, she always tried her hardest to produce only the best work from her team. The Leadership Award goes to Tetrina Haeson."

This time a small otter rose from her seat. The audience clapped as the silver mustelid stepped up to receive her award. Once she had gone back to her seat, the wolf spoke up again.

"Our final award is the Aventus Centuri Award. Aventus Centuri was a monumental battle chief during the Great Interplanetary War. He was known for his persistent grit and creativity when it came to battle. His aptitude for strategy and fearless demeanor eventually won the battle that gave us the Solarian galaxy. The recipient of this award is known for his innovative state of mind and ability to think on his feet. This student received full marks on his final simulation exam and is among the top five scoring engineers -"

Several gasps and whispers were heard near the back corner of the room, followed by a few hushes from the surrounding crowd. The wolf smiled knowingly and continued.

"And he is among the top five scoring engineers at the TriNexus Career Camp since 1950. The recipient of this year's Aventus Centuri award," the wolf paused for effect. "...is Russ Talvek."

The group of furs in the back erupted into thunderous applause, clearly heard over the rest of the audience. One could see a group of teenage furs of varying species shouting merrily and giving congratulatory pats to a blue husky, who had stood up with a wide smile on his muzzle.

The seventeen-year-old husky had relatively normal markings, except that where he would normally have black or dark grey fur, it was a vibrant blue that drew the eye. His fur was off-white on the underside of his jaw and his stomach, as well as the underside his tail. He had an athletic figure; not as bulky as the tiger from before, but he was definitely in good shape.

"Way to go, Rusty!"

"You deserve it, dude!"

Hearing his nickname shouted like that made the husky's grin grow impossibly wider. He strode confidently up to the stage where the wolf waited for him with a pleasant smile. He took his award in his left paw and grasped the wolf's firmly in a pawshake. The wolf gave him a word of congratulations as the husky stepped past him to shake paws with the representatives. When Russ turned back around to go back to his seat, the audience was still clapping for him.

As he sat down, his friends gave him a few more words of congratulations.

"Nice, dude," an arctic wolf whispered, offering him a fist bump.

"Thanks," Russ grinned, returning the gesture.

The rest of the ceremony ran relatively uneventfully. It consisted mostly of another slideshow that depicted some of the highlights of their time at TriNexus and passing out participation awards for everyone. The one part of this experience that Russ would never forget is receiving this award. Having accomplished such an achievement from such a prestigious event would look great on his résumé.

Before they were released to go about their business, the wolf said one last thing. "For those of you flying back to the Solarius and Demeter galaxies, one shuttle to each galaxy will be leaving at ten hundred hours tomorrow morning and the morning of sixth. Check-in closes at six hundred hours the morning of each flight. I hope that our students had a fun and enriching experience at this year's Career Camp. Please have a safe flight."

"I'll see you back at the dorm," Russ said to his arctic wolf friend before leaving the table. He heard the wolf say something in return, but he was already too far away to discern it clearly.

It took him a minute to find his target: two adult huskies, a man and a woman, talking excitedly to a coyote couple. They spotted him approaching and immediately wrapped up their conversation, the pair of coyotes moving off to talk to someone else.

"Russ, baby, how have you been?!" The female husky exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and giving him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Moooom!" Russ squirmed in her grasp, managing to detach himself from her hold. Taking a step back, the young husky stood just about at his mother's height: just under six feet. They both had blue fur, but his mother's fur was a much paler blue that complemented her silver eyes.

The female husky gave him a warm smile. "Oh, hush. We're your parents! It's our job to embarrass you."

"I don't know about that, Sera," his father chuckled. He put his arm around his wife's shoulder, squeezing her softly to his side. "But you seem to be doing a good job of it!"

One look at the older husky's figure made it clear which side of the family Russ got his height from. Krendor Talvek stood at around six foot four, his slim frame towering over Russ and Sera by a good bit. His fur was the same shade of vibrant blue as Russ', except that his fur was decorated with white spiral patterns that stood out nicely against the blue.

"Well, I've got an excuse haven't I?" Sera responded to her husband playfully. "We haven't seen him in a month!"

"Yeah, but you're here now!" Russ said. He had to step to the aside a bit to let people pass him to leave the building. "I'm glad you are, though. I did miss you both."

"I'm glad we came, too! Can you believe it?" Krendor said excitedly. "My own offspring, the son of a Commander, just got the Centuri Award?!" The husky was beaming. "I'm proud of you, son."

Russ blushed a little under his fur. "Thanks, dad." He glanced around the room, searching for his friends again. They were nowhere to be seen. "Okay, I hate to be like this, but I have to find my friends."

"Oh, but we've only just seen you again!" His mother protested. "We've been waiting for a whole month!"

"I know," the young husky said apologetically, "but we've got every day together now. And me and my friends have only known each other for a few weeks." The husky pleaded with his eyes. "Please? Some of them aren't from Solarius and I may never see them again after tomorrow."

Sera seemed reluctant, but his father came to his rescue. "Come on, let him spend some time with his friends. He can tell you all about his trip when we get back to Tessa."

His mother sighed. "Oh, all right. But I expect you to tell us everything that happened at camp once we get home."

Russ' grin was back. "Thanks, Mom!" He gave them both a quick hug and just like that, he was striding toward the exit.

Before he could pass through the doors, though, he was stopped by someone calling his name.

"Russ? Russ Talvek?"

The husky turned to see the large wolf from before standing next to the exit, eagerly trying to get his attention.

Russ was taken aback. "Director Missila? Um...to what do I owe this pleasure?"

The wolf waved a paw dismissively. "Oh, please just call me Conro. Only parents and really try-hard politicians call me 'Director.'" Conro grinned at Russ' shocked expression. "What?"

"Um...I..." Russ stuttered. He shook his head to clear it. "It's just...that just sounds really weird coming from you."

Conro chuckled. "Yeah, I get that a lot. But I don't have to be the big man on top all the time, right?"

"Heh, I guess not." The blue husky shuffled awkwardly on his feet. "So, what did you want to talk to me about, sir?"

Conro gave him a pleasant smile; the same one as before. "Well, I have to say I am very impressed by your performance at Camp. Not only did you score high on the exams, but you seem to be a rather accomplished mechanic already on the field. What kind of job do you want when you grow up?"

Having heard this question countless times as a younger pup, Russ responded with the one answer he always gave without hesitation. "I want to be an aerospace engineer."

The wolf nodded in approval. "You're certainly on your way to achieving that goal, I'll tell you that. Your work in the Engineering division was astounding!"

The husky blushed. "Oh, it was nothing."

Conro's eyes widened in surprise. "Nothing? Your scores indicate it was far from nothing, Russ. I'm not exaggerating when I say that you're one of the best students we've had in a very long time. Not to mention you came very close to assembling your own repair bot, which means you also have a bit of IT knowledge. And that certainly helps as an engineer."

Russ didn't know what to say. Immensely flattered, he managed a small, "Thanks."

Conro continued. "And since you did so well during Camp, I have a proposition for you. The Aerospace Department of TriNexus is a little low on engineers and we could use some new hires. I'd like to offer you a position."

Russ' jaw dropped. He had just gotten a job offer from TriNexus of all places! He hastily closed his muzzle and tried to think of a response. "I-I'd love to...but...I'm not old enough to work there yet...and I don't have any job experience as a mechanic..."

Conro looked pleased. "Done your research, have you? Rest assured, I wouldn't break the law to get you on the team. And don't worry about not having any job experience. We'd start you off as a paid intern first and then go from there. You've got a birthday coming up, don't you?"

The husky started again. Conro was just full of surprises, it seemed. "Y-Yeah, how did you know that?

The Director smirked. "I've done my research, too." He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it to the husky. "Just give me a call once you've made up your mind - and once you're old enough, of course."

Russ took the card and stared at it in his paw. When he looked back up, his eyes were filled with joy. "I will! Thank you so much!"

"It was my pleasure. I look forward to your call." The two shook paws for the second time that day. Conro frowned and pulled out his phone to see a new message on the glass screen. "Er, I'm sorry I have to leave so suddenly, but it seems I have some rather urgent business to attend to..."

Russ shook his head. "No, it's fine! Have a good day, Dir - Conro!"

"And you, too, Mr. Talvek."

The two furs went their separate ways, Conro walking back towards the stage with his phone held up to his ear while Russ stepped through the doors leading out the main entrance of the building. The entrance and parking lot was bustling with furs either talking to each other or getting ready to leave in their HoverCars.

Russ took a left at the entrance and walked down the sidewalk that eventually brought him to the dorm buildings. The event had taken place at a university cafeteria while they housed the students in the dormitory buildings. The campus staff had agreed to let them use some of their space, reserving three buildings just for the students to use.

As Russ entered the dorm area, he was first greeted by the sight of a quiet fountain surrounded by green grass and bushes arranged in a decorative manner. Three dorm buildings were arranged in a U shape surrounding a courtyard which opened toward the street.

The blue husky entered the building on his right and began navigating the halls to his room. The walls were a pale off-white color and the floor smelled of some unidentifiable air freshener. The dark colored carpets were spotless as always; the dorms were kept very tidy and had been since they had arrived. They campus staff wanted to ensure that their guests were as comfortable as possible during their stay.

Russ quickly found his room - a perk of being assigned to a room on the first floor. He took out his key, deftly unlocked the door, and stepped inside. Shutting the door behind him, he turned around to see his arctic wolf friend arranging clothes on his bed.

The wolf glanced up at him and greeted him as he walked in. "Hey, Rusty."

"Hi, Arc," the husky responded. He surveyed the bed, seeing clothes and other items arranged into neat piles. "What are you doing?"

"Packing," the wolf said. "Thought I'd get a head start, y'know?"

Arc Cyrus stood just a bit shorter than Russ and was rather small for his age, despite being a year older than the husky. The pure white fur that covered his whole body was actually very uncharacteristic of his species compared to the vibrant and loud colors of most Solarians, but what really caught one's attention was his eyes. They were a dazzling golden yellow that seemed to radiate his happiness whenever he smiled.

"Good idea," said Russ. "I should probably get to work on that, too." He moved to the back of the room and behind his bed, where his suitcase sat on the floor. He hoisted it up with one paw and swung it onto the bed, leaving it open.

As he began packing his own suitcase, carefully excluding anything he would need in the meantime, Arc spoke up. "Hey, I just wanna say congrats again on the award, dude. That's a big deal."

Russ looked up from his own suitcase. "Hey, thanks, man. It means a lot. Oh!" The husky had just remembered his exchange with Conro. "The Director himself came to talk to me after the ceremony!"

"Really?" Arc looked surprised. "What did he want?"

"He said he was really impressed with what I did. He offered me an internship at TriNexus!"

"Holy shit! Dude, that's great!" The white wolf's smile seemed to brighten the room. "Are you going to take it?"

Russ frowned. "That's the problem. I don't know." He walked around the bed and began rummaging through a drawer. "I want to take his offer, but it's so far away from Solarius. I'd miss you guys."

Arc shrugged. "I guess you could always wait until school's over and then apply."

Russ stopped what he was doing and stared at the wolf. He had been so caught up in the moment that he hadn't realized the simple answer. "That actually makes a lot of sense."

"That's why you keep me around," Arc chuckled.

Before they could discuss any further, there was a loud knock at the door. "Hey, Rusty! You in there?!"

Recognizing the voice, Russ opened the door, revealing a bulky badger in shorts and a simple t-shirt.

"Hey, man. Me and the guys are going to the arcade tonight one last time. You wanna come? It'll be fun!"

The husky had to think about it for a moment. "Don't they need us for anything else today? Like a farewell assembly or something?"

The badger laughed. "Dude, that was the farewell assembly. We're free starting now. Weren't you listening when they told us at breakfast?"

"Er, no. I was kind of tired," Russ responded, a little embarrassed. "But yeah, I'd like to come. Do you mind if I bring a friend?"

The badger shook his head. "Nah, bro, it's cool. We're heading over at eighteen hours if you want to meet us at the door."

"Cool, thanks. See you there!"

After the badger had gone, Russ turned back toward Arc, who appeared to be almost finished packing his items.

"Well, it looks like we've got something to do tonight!"

The wolf snorted. "You're just glad you don't have to sit through another assembly."

"Aren't you? Those things are boring!" Russ strode back to his dresser to resume packing his things. "I nearly fell asleep at the one this morning!"

Arc grinned savagely. "Well, you'd better keep your head up tonight, because I'm going to totally destroy you in Shadow Fortress 2!"

The husky chortled in response. "Oh, not a chance! Ten credits says I win best three out of five!"

.........................

"Damn it!"

The arcade was a large dimly lit room attached to the student union at the university. The guests were a mix of college and TriNexus students all having a good time with the various arcade games arranged in rows across the room. At one console in particular, a white wolf and a blue husky stood at the controls, the latter of which slumping in defeat.

"Hah! I win!" Arc rejoiced, pumping a fist into the air. Bright green text on the screen read 'Player 1 Wins.' "You owe me ten!"

"Yeah, yeah. Rub it in," Russ sighed, leaning on the corner of the console. "You got lucky on that last round."

"Aww, don't be such a crab. I won fair and square." The wolf said, still grinning smugly. "Another round?"

Russ glanced around the room, observing the other gamers as they moved about. Spotting an empty console, he straightened and pointed. "Nah, let's go play that one."

Arc followed his gaze and spotted the game. "Wormhole? A racing game? You sure?"

"Positive. Come on, let's grab it before someone else does."

The two canines sped to the console, paid for a round, and started playing.

"Dude, I'm still crushing you," Arc chuckled after a while. "You sure you want to play this game?"

"Hey, the bet's over. I'm just having fun with it now." Russ replied absentmindedly. His paws fiddled with the joystick as his eyes remained locked on the screen, brows furrowed in concentration.

"Yeah, but still." His wolf companion was just as focused, his eyes never leaving the screen as he spoke. "It's a spaceship racing game. You'd think this would be your home turf, Rusty."

The husky now raised an eyebrow. "Me? I'm just a mechanic. As a pilot, you'd be naturally better at this game, Archimedes."

The wolf's ears flattened back against his head, his composure faltering a bit. "Dude, I've told you not to call me that."

Russ shook his head in disbelief. For some ungodly reason, his friend didn't like to be called by his full name. Archimedes Cyrus, the wolf's great grandfather, had been another famous figure in the Great War; he had in fact worked alongside Aventus Centuri for quite some time before he was killed in action. When Arc was born, after careful consideration, his parents had decided to name him after the famous war hero. However, the wolf didn't seem to enjoy the attention it gave him.

"I still think you should embrace it, man." Russ persisted. "I'd love to have an awesome name like that."

"It's not as great as you think," the wolf muttered glumly. His focus on the game had now slipped considerably, allowing Russ' ship to pull ahead of his. "I'm named after some glorious war hero, so now everyone expects me to be so great at everything. You should have seen everyone's reactions on the first day of Camp."

"I'm sure most people don't think of you like that," refuted Russ, now also losing his focus on the game. "That's just unreasonable. But you are a pretty good pilot."

Arc was silent for a moment before shrugging. "I'm alright."

Now very concerned for his friend, Russ took his paws off the controls as the race ended, resulting in a victory by himself. "We really need to talk about your lack of self-confidence."

The wolf remained silent for another moment before he spoke up. "Whatever, let's not ruin the night with this soppy crap. It's our last night here with the others. Let's not waste it."

He was right. It wouldn't do any good to dwell on it now; they could always discuss it later. "Should we go talk to the guys some more then?"

Arc perked up considerably, his jovial grin returning. "Right on! I need to find Baron anyway; I wanted to talk to him about something..."

.........................

"Russ, are you sure you've got everything with you? Didn't forget anything?"

"Yes, Dad."

Russ and his father were standing outside the airport waiting to board the ship that would take them back to the Solarian galaxy. One glance out the window told the husky that they would be boarding a Class-B cargo ship. That brought a small grin to his muzzle; this meant that he might be getting an entire room to himself instead of having to bunk with somebody. The journey back was going to be almost as luxurious as the trip here.

"Where's Mom?"

"She's already on the ship." Krendor said, impatiently tapping his foot while observing the growing line of furs waiting to board the ship. "You have your ticket?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Hey, Rusty!"

Both furs turned around to see a slender female panther waving in their direction. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"You go ahead and board. I'll be on in a minute," the younger husky said to his father before he casually walked over to the panther. As he approached, she appeared to be a little shy, shuffling nervously between her paws and a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Hey, Rusty...um...congrats on the award. I'm Raven." She stammered.

"Hi, Raven. And thanks!" Russ responded coolly, shaking her paw. "What can I help you with?"

"Um, well, I was thinking," said Raven timidly. "I've seen you around at camp, and I just thought...well, I really like you...so I was wondering if we could...you know...get together and...go out?"

This time it was the husky's turn to blush. He didn't get asked out very often; in fact, such thing had occurred only once back in middle school. Even then, he had declined the girl in question, so he had never been in a relationship either. Nevertheless, the fact that a rather cute - he had to admit - girl from camp that he barely knew had noticed him and plucked up the courage to ask him out was flattering.

"Er..." The blue husky wasn't sure how to deal with this situation. "I - uh - appreciate the gesture, but I don't...swing your way."

The panther looked shocked. "Oh...okay." Her expression then morphed into one of annoyance. She turned on her feet and stalked away. Just before the feline moved out of earshot, he heard her mutter under her breath, "Why are the cute ones always gay?"

Still blushing, Russ turned back to join the boarding line. The awkward experience had left him a flustered and a little self-conscious. Although he supposed it could have been worse. It could have ended up being -

"Hey, Rusty, wait up!"

Oh no. Not him. Please not him.

_ _ Russ spun around to face the mystery person - and sure enough, Kuri Sonas, the red tiger from before, was striding confidently toward him with a cheerful smile on his face. The cat wore a set of khaki cargo shorts with a blue polo shirt tight enough to show off his muscular thighs and large pecs. His thick biceps strained the sleeves of the polo, seeming likely to burst through them if he flexed. The feline was simply packed with muscle, his rather short stature only making him seem that much bigger. Although it was still up to speculation whether that particular quality about him applied to a certain part of his anatomy...

"Uh, hello? You alright, bro?"

The husky was shaken from his thoughts to see the tiger standing in front of him, now looking concerned. Realizing he had just been caught staring, Russ quickly tried to save himself.

"Uh, yeah! I'm fine!"

Kuri didn't yet look convinced. "Okay, as long as you're sure..."

The husky swallowed nervously. "Yup. Fine."

Kuri nodded. "Alright, well, I just wanted to say congrats on getting that award yesterday. That's huge! Looks good on a résumé."

"Yeah, thanks," Russ responded, still a little flustered. "Same to you!"

"Thanks, dude," the tiger said with a smile. "Pretty cool, huh? It's not every day two Solarians both get TriNexus awards in the same year, am I right?" Kuri patted the side of the husky's shoulder with a chuckle.

Russ flinched at his touch, an involuntary reaction that did not go unnoticed by the tiger. Kuri quirked an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Russ scrambled for an excuse. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just...cold out here, that's all! Yeah..."

Kuri nodded slowly, still looking a bit uncertain. "Right, well I gotta go. My friends are probably wondering where I've gone. Cya later, dude!"

With that, the tiger spun around and began walking away. Russ moved toward the boarding line again, now furious with himself.

Way to go, dumbass. He thinks you're weird now.

He looked behind him for one last look at the tiger. Since Kuri was faced away from him, Russ was now presented with a rear profile of the bulky feline. The husky began to stare again as his gaze roved over the wide expanse of the cat's back and then down to that round bubble butt that flexed with his strides...

No! Stop it! Bad Russ!

_ _ All this ogling had provoked a tightening in the husky's pants, but it had not yet progressed far enough to become obvious, for which he was thankful. After making sure he had 'calmed down' a bit, he went to the line and waited his turn, eager to get inside the ship and begin his journey home. When it was his turn, he presented his ticket and got it verified, allowing his access to the shuttle. He thanked the employee at the gate and went on his way.

A he ascended the ramp up to the ship, Russ looked back down upon the place he'd been living at for the past month. He could see the bustling bodies of the people down inside the airport and the vehicles in the parking lot. He could see the hangar nearby where several empty ships sat. Far in the distance, he could see the TriNexus headquarters building rising high above the others and glinting in the sun.

Thoughts of his potential career at TriNexus brought a smile to his muzzle. The husky turned and continued up the ramp.

"Home sweet home, here I come."