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This one takes place about mid-way through Book 7 of Ranger's Tail, and takes place over the period of about 7 weeks at first, and progresses from there. I would suggest, to truly appreciate this story, that the reader at least glance through Ranger's Tail (I know it's long but I keep getting told it's good) While there are characters from the other story, the main focus point is Sean and Emily.

Love Front

Book 1: Earthbound

Chapter 1 Terms

Captain Atric's Stateroom Aboard FN Trident Enroot to Sol System 2107 Military Time

A knocking. Another knocking. A jingle of keys and the sound of a lock being opened.

Emily rolled over and looked towards the door, her paw on the pistol beside bed. She knew who it was but you could never be to sure.

Just as she knew a red fox walked in, her fox. He walked over and sat down beside her, noticed he hadn't shut the door all the way and got back up to shut it. He sat back down feeling even more exasperated.

"What's wrong?" the rabbit asked, pushing herself over and patting his back.

Sean sighed, "I still have work."

"What?" she replied, not sure what he meant by that.

The fox sighed again and laid down beside his lover, still not looking at her, "Remember that Rodina mentioned that there was a wolf resistance but they couldn't figure out where it was based?"

He heard Emily nod, the soft fur on her neck rustling but she still whispered, "Yes."

"Well apparently Steve and Cathy found it, on Earth," Sean explained, "and they want me to lead or at least take part in the removal Op."

With his attuned ears Sean heard the rabbit take a single, quick irregular breath. His assumption had been right; she didn't like this.

Emily began to say something but the fox turned to meet her gaze, stopping her short. The ears on both of their heads were pinned back in an upset state.

"I don't want to upset you but I have to do this. I don't want to, I really don't but I have to," Sean whispered in an almost begging tone.

At hearing this Emily began shaking her head quickly, "No, no I won't let you. I don't want to los- I won't lose you," she reached out and held his paw and repeated, "I won't let you. I won't let you leave me."

"I'm not leaving you," Sean answered very defensively, "I have a duty, you know that, you're a soldier too."

"Not like you though," she pointed out.

The fox nodded and pulled himself a little closer, "I still have to. I don't want to but I have to. I owe Steve that much for saving you."

Now Emily was silent. She thought back to that, being stuck in that cold little cell with Private Abrams and her little sister Sarah and being tortured and brutalized by those wolves. She also remembered Captain Reynolds coming and saving her, making it possible for her to meet Sean. If it wasn't for him she likely be dead and worse, without her lover.

"Okay," she whispered finally, moving herself very close, "I'm not letting you go."

"But I ha-"

She put her paw to his lips, "I'm not letting you go without me. No ands ifs or buts about it. If you're going, I'm going. I saw how upset Captain Reynolds was when he was separated from Cathy and I know you saw how bad Cathy felt when she wasn't with him. I don't think I could do that, I don't think I could lose you, not you too. Sarah was almost..." she trailed off, almost crying.

Sean closed the remaining distance and cuddled her against his body and whispered, "It's okay Emily. I will never let that happen, I swear to you that."

The rabbit didn't answer she only buried herself deeper into his arms, wrapping her paws and strong hind legs around him. She tried to forget about her sister at the moment and made every effort to think only his attempts to comfort her.

For at least another hour they laid like this, both their minds weighing heavily with the concept of going back to war. While Sean didn't like fighting and killing, he loved the Federation and loved the military. He had been avoiding the thoughts of leaving it, having spent so long training to be a soldier, training to be a Ranger, training to use the Predator Armor. He knew he had to give it up, there was no debate but he still avoided the thought.

Emily was somewhat the same. Not nearly as dedicated but she liked the military a lot too. The main problem for her though was that she didn't have anywhere to go. She felt the same way as Cathy had felt when she thought of losing Steve, where would she go if her lover was gone forever? Emily knew for a fact she couldn't stay in the military for long, she was going to have Sean's offspring soon and she wouldn't try to raise them and stay in the Army, it wouldn't be fair to them. To add to the mix, just like Cathy, if she lost Sean she'd have nowhere to go. Emily couldn't face her parents, she still felt guilty over Sarah's death, and she had friends but she was too proud to beg, even for shelter. It was because of this Emily wasn't going to let Sean leave her sight. If he went, she would go by his side.

"So what's the plan?" the rabbit asked finally, both to anxious now to sleep.

Sean shrugged, "Probably a hunt and kill thing, I can't imagine it being that bad, it's not that big of a planet and Rodina was pretty sure that most of his forces are accounted for," the fox thought for a moment and added, "then again no one's ready to trust him."

He didn't need to tell Emily twice; of all the females in the federation she was the one who likely hated wolves the most, having experienced things that sent chills down everyone's spines.

"I hope this is over fast, I'm tired of this, I just want you to stay here with me in this bed," she whispered into his pelt, rubbing her face a little into his furry neck.

Rubbing her back the fox forced a chuckle, "Don't worry, you'll be with me so I know things will be okay."

Emily smiled, that made her feel better.

They both eventually feel asleep, not feeling better about going back to fighting but taking comfort that at least they would be together when they did.

The Next Day Aboard the FN Endeavor in Orbit Over Earth 1029 Military Time

Officers, soldiers, and sailors stopped and snapped the crispest salutes they could as the very annoyed Consular and his equally angry wife strode towards the bridge.

Being that he was "home;" the Endeavor being the place he had spend the majority of his life on, he had allowed himself to stop and think about everything that had happened on surface and now, in his mind, took it as a personal attack.

Cathy was equally angry, but she suppressed it for her husband's sake, she didn't want to let on she was even more upset than he was.

On the bridge they were met by Sean and Emily who were looking out the window down at the surface.

"Sir!" Sean said and snapped a salute, Emily following suit.

Ignoring the gesture Steve walked right over to the fox and held out his hand, Sean hesitating for a moment but soon shook his hand.

"Let's get this thing done Sean so we can really end this," the Consular said, getting right down to business.

Smiling Captain Atric turned to Cathy and asked, "So your letting him go."

The vixen frowned and Steve answered, "I'm not allowed, Cathy doesn't want me to and the senate won't allow me either. I'm not allowed to put myself in danger... or so they tell me anyway."

Both Sean and Cathy could hear Emily grinding her teeth, she wished there was an excuse like that to keep Sean out of this.

"So I'm alone on this one?" the fox said, trying to make a joke but it didn't come out quite right.

Worried that Sean might be trying to keep her out of this Emily said loudly, "I'll be with you."

Not wanting to bring attention to this Steve went on, "This shouldn't be hard, our entire force is in orbit and..." he trailed off, a bit uncomfortable with the concept, "... the wolves are going to assist us."

Everyone shifted a bit.

"I don't trust them either," Steve added, "but it would be worse to not let them assist at all. So to make sure we stay safe for every wolf unit will be escorted and flanked by two of ours with no exceptions. I figure if we keep at least a 2 to 1 advantage on our new 'allies' any wolves who don't like the idea of fighting with us will hesitate to do anything that could ruin this peace."

Taking a deep breath Sean asked, "Do we have to work with wolves?"

"Worse," Steve answered, shaking his head in an annoyed way, "You 'get' to work with their Special Forces."

The fox looked at him strangely, he was very confused, "I didn't know they had Special Forces."

"Well apparently they do, they're called the Spetsnfte Brigade."

Everyone still looked a bit confused and Steve shrugged.

Cathy came up close and kind of stood in the middle of the group, "Why haven't we ever seen them before?"

What Emily and Sean didn't realize was that the Consular was, in a rare instance, not being entirely truthful. Cathy picked up on it right away and although she didn't want to make him look foolish, her natural curiosity forced her to do otherwise.

Steve hesitated, looked Cathy in the eye and sighed, "We are the only two Federals to ever encounter a Spetsnfte trooper."

The vixen still looked confused.

"The Alpha Wolf's son was one, the original commander too," Steve answered, Cathy now feeling embarrassed and a bit afraid of her friends working with a group that was commanded by that wolf.

Seeing their discomfort Sean chimed in with, "When does this all start sir?"

"Tomorrow, I hope," Reynolds answered, "I don't like them on the planet; they don't have any right especially since they stand against the Federation but they won't last, not now, not since we have everything we need."

"And whose in charge?" the fox asked, starting to think this might not be that bad, probably a very quick operation.

"General Osing."

"Good, good," Sean said, thinking of ideas, "What kind of air support can we expect."

The consular sighed deeply and almost sadly answered, "None."

Now Captain Atric was very, very confused.

"Same reason I wouldn't okay a Delta-2-Zero, I couldn't live with myself having that happen to my planet. Air support may destroy things that don't need to be destroyed and I can't have that on my conscious," Steve answered.

"I thought you were from Conakry?" Emily asked.

"It's my entire species home world, we all came from there, I can't just destroy it," Steve replied.

That was something none of them, even Cathy, couldn't quite understand, like most furries did. They were never that attached to a home world since it was their species they felt a loyalty to, not where they're from. Many humans were starting to follow suit and felt less and less attached to earth, General Osing being a good example, and in reality couldn't care less about the ancient planet. All this aside, it was still Consular Reynolds' decision and he wasn't going to destroy it.

Shrugging Captain Atric continued, "We can still use all types of ground units right?"

"Yep," Steve said, then thought for a moment, "cept maybe artillery, but it doesn't really matter, your going to be in charge of at least a company of Predator soldiers, acting as the spearhead."

Reynolds saw the fox bite his lip and asked what was wrong.

"I..." he hesitated and chanced a look back at Emily who hadn't caught on yet, "I... Emily is going to accompany, but she can't use the Predator system... can she?"

Everyone turned to the rabbit but she stood firm, "I can do it, its not that hard is it?"

Cathy chuckled.

"What?" Emily asked.

She knew Cathy didn't have any training with the armor so how hard could it be?

"They had to make a special version just for me," Cathy answered, "one that would cover my muzzle, and it doesn't work that well, it's kinda tight. The only reason Sean can use it is cause he's a fox too, to make armor for anything else would be tough I think."

It wasn't meant to be specist, Cathy had no problems with rabbits or anything but it was a fact that the Predator Armor in general wasn't designed for furs. It worked well on humans cause, for the most part; all humans were built the same but furs varied too much to make a practical armor system that would work. Research had been redoubled on making it available to all species since the Reynolds' escapades but one that would work for rabbits, work well for foxes and dogs, or any other species was still far away.

Looking a surprised Emily asked, "I can still use just the body part right? I mean why can't I just have it only cover everything lower than my neck?"

Looking at the rabbit carefully, Consular Reynolds answered, "Well aside from the fact it's barely safe, since wolves tend to aim for the head anyway, rabbits tend to have one, big problem with any Armor system."

Emily nodded for him to continue, everyone trusted his judgment in matters of the military and especially the Predator armor, few had used it nearly as well or as much as he had.

"Your tails," he continued, "Their very small, small enough that the armor thinks that it's a clothing appendage and goes through it, rather than over or around it."

At hearing that the rabbit shifted uncomfortably; a physical pain caused her tail to twitch.

"So you can see the problem with that," Steve frowned.

She nodded her head silently.

Sean took a deep breath and said very softly, "Then I'm very sorry Steve but I can't go down there, even under orders."

Of all the furs or humans in the Federation, Reynolds understood the fox's situation better than Sean could imagine.

"I'm sure we can find a way for Emily to be protected, you just get ready in all other aspects," Steve said and saluted the fox.

Captain Atric returned the gesture and Steve with Cathy by his side, strode off the bridge to brief the various other players in this Operation.

The fox and his lover lingered for a moment but soon walked back to their stateroom, not really sure of what else to do. When they entered they stood next to each other at the doorway for a moment, in complete silence.

Sean wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind so he just said, "I'm sorry Emily."

"For what?" she asked, almost offended.

Feeling stupid the fox forced a chuckle and shrugged.

"Don't do that Sean, please don't do that," Emily replied, her voice strong and commanding, "Don't apologize to me, you've never done anything wrong to me."

"I know Emily, I just don't know what to do," Sean answered and walked over to the bed to sit down, "I don't even want to go now, Steve seemed a bit worried about all this."

Emily played with her paws for a moment, quite nervously too; something Sean had never seen her do before.

"What's wrong Emily?" he asked, coaxing her over.

She made an attempt to make a nonchalant shrug but it was obvious it was faked, "I can tell why he's upset... well why they're both upset anyway."

"Why?"

"I could see it in Cathy's eyes, something bad happened down there, really bad," the rabbit explained and sat down beside Sean.

He laid her head down on his shoulder, stroking her furry cheeks, "That kinda goes without saying, they kind of attacked her and Steve on their honeymoon."

"No something worse happened..." Emily said and felt a shiver go up her back.

Sean still didn't quite understand but he decided to let it go, clearly it was something he didn't want to hear about and something Emily didn't want to explain.

After thinking for a moment he chuckled and said in a light-hearted way, "We got to work on a little bit of training for you, if we're going to do this we need you in the best condition we can get you in."

The rabbit shrugged and snuggled into his shoulder; she didn't feel like doing anything right now, the thought of losing Sean scared her too much.

For the moment Sean let her sit like that but he was going to get her to at least the shooting range and the obstacle course today, it would help keep her mind off the coming operation. He knew it would work; it always helped him when he was nervous.

Briefing Room Aboard FN Endeavor 1138 Military Time

Rodina sat at the chair, feeling nervous as hell but he couldn't show it. He knew he was being inspected closely, he knew the Consular was very, very pissed and he was sure that it wouldn't take much to set the Consular on a warpath.

The wolf still wasn't used to being around the Federal officers that were in the dark, dank briefing room. He wasn't so much scared of them but his instincts were hard driven in and he couldn't help but admit he felt like fighting or taking them out, even though he knew they were supposed to be allies now.

Just then the Consular entered, his wife close behind, and Rodina was the first on his feet, at attention. He saluted before most of the Federal officers had turned or stood up. Needless to say a few clicks of weapons being brought up could be heard and everyone heard Osing yell out, "Stand down!"

In the most cordial voice anyone in the room had ever heard come from a wolf Rodina said, "Consular Reynolds, Mrs. Reynolds."

"Major Rodina," Steve nodded, a bit taken aback but didn't want to falter in front of the wolf.

Few noticed it, although Rodina did, the Consular took a small steep in front of his wife but she matched it and made sure she was presented as well. They walked over and sat down at the desk, followed by everyone else in the room.

Steve took a deep breath, set his hands on the table and said in a mildly tense voice, "So, my forces are mobilizing and should set up a foothold within the next two days, but I need to clarify a few things about your forces and strategy."

"Before we get into that Consular," Rodina went on, still in a very calm, cool voice, "I would just like to just point out two things. One; the General staff figured I'm better off being a General than just a major. Second; I just want to say that although our forces will be answering to our chain of command, we'll be answering to you, so whatever your orders are to your forces, we will follow suit."

"Thank you General," Steve said, still tense but no longer from the military situation, Rodina had basically handed over the wolf forces, "Our only, rather only mine, most of the other officers," he looked over to Osing who rolled his eyes, "disagree with me but I want you to avoid as much property damage as possible, that means no air strikes or artillery support."

Rodina thought for a moment, turned to Osing who actually looked surprise, "You think the Consular is to sentimental about your home world?"

The General looked confused and, something few had ever seen, stuttered and couldn't offer a response.

Steve actually chuckled and, gaining Rodina's attention said, "It's just not something that sits right with me, destroying anything there."

The wolf nodded, "I wanted to know one thing though, well its more a request though."

"Go on," the Consular replied, leaning in a little closer.

The General sat up and leaned in as well, "I'm sure your aware of our Spetsnfte, our equivalent to your Rangers," Reynolds frowned at that, he didn't view anything as equivalent to the Rangers but he kept quiet, "They operate on their own chain of command. The short time we used them we just gave them a mission and that was it, they did everything else on their own."

"And?" Steve asked, not quite understanding what Rodina was getting at, the Rangers acted on their own all the time.

"Well they tend to be described as... eccentrics," and the wolf put his paws up defensively, "few of the original ones are left basically, they were executed because of their crimes against the Federation, but even the ones who are just soldiers are still a bit..." he thought for the right word, "... excessive? I guess."

"Excessive like how?" the Consular asked, now a bit worried about this unit.

"Well they will fight without regard for their own losses, or losses among units they work with," Rodina answered, a bit embarrassed that the unit fought with such... conviction, "They tend to not let anyone get in the way. The old ones used to slaughter anyone, even civilians, these new operators won't do that but once they're given a mission they will complete it, regardless of who tries to countermand them."

Very carefully Steve sat back and asked, "Do you think their to dangerous to work with?"

"I think that if you use them," the wolf said, still not seeming nervous, "you make sure you pick a objective that you won't have second thoughts about, because I don't think I could get them to stand down."

The Consular shrugged, "Well I don't have any problem with what you said," he shook his head, "There are some Ranger units that act like that but I have one request."

The wolf nodded.

"They need, now and in the future, to have some Ranger's mixed in with them, at least half their number," Steve said, not hesitating and not leaving room for question, "And it's a double standard, I want to transfer some of the Spetsnfte to some of our Ranger units as well. Now that's not so much a request as it is a requirement. If you can't do that than I want that unit disbanded."

Rodina sighed loudly, "I don't think they'll go for that, and by the way, there's not a lot of them, the entire Brigade is maybe 40 Operators."

"Ohhhh..." Reynolds said at a draw, he thought their numbers were much higher than that, like a real unit.

The wolf thought for a moment, trying to figure out a compromise.

"Its still not acceptable," Steve said but the General continued thinking.

Rodina nodded and answered, "Alright I have an idea. The Spetsnfte don't have a real commander anymore. The old one was the Alpha's son, and he dead."

"I killed him," Steve said proudly, causing the wolf to shift a little. The consular just wanted to clarify that he was a soldier too.

"Well we've had a Lieutenant working as commander when most would prefer at least a major so if you have an officer, he can command them," General Nelson Rodina bargained.

Steve thought of Sean right away. He was only a Captain but Steve couldn't think of a more capable field officer. He told the fox he would be working with this new unit, not commanding it. And then there was Emily. Sean had said that no matter what happened Emily would go with him, or he wouldn't do anything. How could Reynolds expect her to work with a unit full of wolves considering what she'd been through?

He sighed and nodded, "Alright Rodina, I have an officer in mind," the Consular glanced at Osing who already knew, "He's not a Major, he's a Captain but he's about the best soldier I can think of and a great Special Forces Operator."

The wolf bit his lower lip and nodded, "Okay Consular, that will be fine, have your Captain report to our Battleship, the Borodino within the next day or two."

Shooting Range Aboard FN Endeavor 1402 Military Time

Now Sean loved Emily totally and fully, not a doubt in his mind, but his opinions on how good of a soldier she was changed a little when he saw her shoot for the first time.

"Damn..." the rabbit whispered under her breath as she missed another four targets.

She turned and looked at Atric who stood up straight for a second, not wanting to make her feel worse. The shear fact was Emily was a terrible shot. Out of maybe 20 targets she hit five, hardily enough to qualify the basic military requirements much less work with Special Forces units. Sean didn't know what to do either. He wouldn't let her go into the field like this, it would be too dangerous and he would feel sure of her safety, much less the safety of those around her.

Carefully she unloaded her rifle and walked back to the fox, looking disappointed and a bit embarrassed. She was very strong spirited but she always sank low when she failed or was clearly not able to do something and of all things, this was something her chosen lover, her mate as it were, was an expert at, only making her feel more unskilled.

Sean put his paw on her back and asked, "How much combat did you see?"

She shrugged, "Not much, my unit wasn't in the field for very long before I was captured," she sighed deeply, very discouraged, "I'm a terrible shot, aren't I?"

Knowing that lying would hurt her more but he still didn't want hurt her feelings Atric rubbed her back very softly and whispered, "Do you think there's a reason why you have such a problem?"

"I never was a good shot," Emily whispered and rested her head on his chest, "I passed the marksmanship by shear chance, I don't think there's anything I can do about it..."

In a rare instance Sean leaned in, and, even though quite a few furries and humans were watching, gave Emily a long, soft kiss. She was surprised but felt better as his face and lips pressed against hers.

Barely removing he mouth from hers the fox whispered, "Comon, I know you can run fast and have good endurance, lets go to the Obstacle course."

The rabbit smiled and the two walked out.

Briefing Room Aboard Wolf Battleship Borodino 1429 Military Time

General Rodina stepped off his shuttle and was quickly escorted down the corridor. He passed various soldiers and sailors who saluted him and went on. He made a mental note at how much more the Federals seemed to enjoy the formalities of the military.

He entered the small barrack and was met with at least 40 wolves, all in armor, standing at attention. The Spetsnfte were the only wolves that seemed to be as formal as the Federals.

"Sir!" one of them, the lieutenant, said and walked over to him, "Do we have any new orders?"

"Yes, actually," Rodina answered and he saw the wolf's eyes light up a little with excitement.

Standing a little bit straighter the wolf said, "We're ready and willing sir!"

"You can stand down lieutenant, it's not that kind of order, I need you to come with me for a moment though," the General said and motioned for the lieutenant to follow him.

The wolf looked a little disappointed but followed Rodina who brought him to a small briefing room.

As they sat down Rodina got right to business, "Lieutenant Girgori, I know your very attached to the Spetsnfte, I know you love commanding them, but I had to make a deal with Consular Reynolds about that."

"About what?" the wolf said slowly, already slightly angered.

The General sighed, "Consular Reynolds has made it a requirement that, in the least, the Spetsnfte are commanded by a Federal officer."

Rodina heard Girgori growl quietly but the annoyed wolf nodded.

"Is it only one officer?" he asked, thinking about a few things that were definitely not in the best interests of this alliance.

For a moment General Rodina let his anger show and he almost yelled, "Now I want to be very clear, these tactics and ideas where you just let anyone and everyone get killed will stop, with no exception. I will disband your unit and that will be it. You are not to let this officer get killed. Consular Reynolds has assured me that he is extremely capable but I want you to make sure he stays alive. If we fuck this up the Federation won't accept us and we'll be back to square one in a war we don't want to be in."

Girgori growled even quieter but nodded, "Yes sir, and when can we expect him to be here?"

"Two days I'd say."

"And is he capable enough to work with a unit like ours?"

Rodina shrugged, "Apparently he was a Ranger so he's certainly of Operator status, other than that, I don't know."

Lieutenant Girgori sighed, he didn't like this at all and it hadn't started yet. It was sounding like he was being handed over to the Federation and losing everything he had worked towards. All that and he was going to have to baby-sit some Federation fucker. He didn't like it at all. Either way he didn't want to fight the Federation anymore. Girgori would never put it like this but he was tired of losing.

Physical Training Gym Aboard FN Endeavor 1545 Military Time

Now this was something Emily was good at, almost as good as Sean. They ran, with only about ten feet between them, up the steep obstacle, jumped over the crevasse at its peak, and repelled down the rope in almost 40 seconds flat.

What Emily lacked in shooting skilled she more than made up for in speed and nimbleness. She practically walked down the wall as they repelled. The only reason Sean was able to beat her was because he was a little bit stronger and had been in good shape all along.

When they reached the starting position the fox stopped for a moment while Emily caught her breath.

Sean rubbed her back softly and smiled, "Well, at least we know your more than strong enough to work with a Special Forces unit."

Emily smiled as well and rasped slightly out of breath, "Sean you knew I was pretty strong already."

The fox stuttered a little and Emily giggled, stood up and gave him a quick kiss on his muzzle.

Regaining his voice Sean asked, "You want to run it again?"

"I don't know? I feel fine as far as my legs are, I need to work on my shooting though," she answered, but again Sean noticed that her whole mood changed.

Usually Emily was strangely commanding, like she wanted everyone to know that she wasn't going to break down or falter in her speech or actions but when she shot, rather attempted to shoot, she just fell apart. She really couldn't do it and hated the thought of possibly looking weak in front of anyone, particularly Sean.

"Na," he answered, rubbing her back again, "We spent most of today on the course, tomorrow we'll do nothing but work on your shooting."

The rabbit shrugged and they walked back to their room, stopping for a moment to grab some food at the mess hall. It was kind of early so it was basically empty but the few furries and people in the hall paid close attention the pair. They were just as famous as Cathy and Steve, and most soldiers tended to relate to Captain Atric and Emily, as they were both still soldiers, not as prestigious as Steve had become in the last few weeks.

As a joke on both Sean and the spectators Emily, halfway through their meal, leaned in and gave Sean a very deep kiss, something he nor the soldiers in the hall expected and threw everyone off guard. Sean was embarrassed and started stuttering again, causing Emily to giggle evilly, loving how she could press his buttons so easily.

When they finally made it back to their room Emily was in the lead so, as to pay her back, Sean gave her soft tail a small pull, gently pulling her backwards against his body. She cooed softly and turned her head to nuzzle his face softly. In turn he wrapped his paws around her waist and held her as close as he could get her. She felt much calmer and felt like she could let Sean take over for the moment.

His tail swept up and down her legs and Emily caught it in her paws, stroking it softly. Sean started grinding against her body.

In a very soft tone Emily whispered, "What's come over you all of a sudden?"

"Mmm I didn't like being interrupted this morning..." he answered and rubbed his muzzle into the back of her neck.

The smell of her body from the exercise drove him wild. Her body felt warm and soft, for such a strong little rabbit Sean had never felt such a soft pelt.

Cooing again she whispered, "Want me to go first?"

"No this is nice for now," Sean replied, surprising Emily but she was fine with this, she liked having his attention.

He moved her over the bed and sat her down; Emily sat up waiting for him to mount her. She wanted him right here, right now. She felt a little whipped from her shooting escapades and wanted to prove how strong she was.

Sean smiled, laid her down, and crawled up on top of her body. The rabbit moaned graciously and reached down to his pants, unzipped them and he quickly kicked them down. She furthered by reaching into his boxers and immediately started jerking him off as he continued crawling up her body.

Whatever had come over him, Emily was grateful for it. She liked him like this but she had to figure out what was brining this out.

Sean lowered his muzzle down to hers and licked her lips softly. She moaned happily and moved her face down to meet his lips, coaxing him in for a kiss. That was when she first noticed it; he actually pulled away a little. She pushed ever closer and she felt him actually lift away. His mood shifted so much that he came off her and laid down by her side.

"What's wrong?" she asked, not happy that the fox had slowed down and very, very intrigued why it seemed that he stopped when she tried force a kiss on him.

Sean smiled but Emily could tell that it was forced, and he whispered quietly "Here..."

He pulled her close and he rested her head against his chest. The rabbit, interested in what his mood was all about, complied for the moment and snuggled up against his body. Carefully Sean started removing her clothes, very softly and not going to fast. Her top, her sports-bra, reaching down carefully he started removing her pants and let Emily kick them off the rest of the way.

Once Sean saw that she was warming up again he reached down and started rubbing her out, causing an instant reaction of her grinding against his hand.

This sudden release of tension in her neither regions caused Emily to moan softly, her ears losing their stiffness and coming to rest on the bed. Unintentionally her legs lifted a little as he slipped part of his paw inside her.

"Oh yes..." she moaned softly and brought her paws to her own face, biting down on one while she tried to control herself.

Sean smiled at the sight and speed up his paw motions. Emily tried hard not to let the feeling overcome her so she rushed her lips to his face and kissed him, his paws slowing while she did. That was twice in a few moments that he had slowed down but this time she called him on it.

A little hurt Emily whimpered, "You don't like my kisses?"

"No, no, well that's not what I meant... I... uh... yes, of course I do, you know that," he said, not wanting to allude to what he really thought, "Let me hold you."

The rabbit sighed a little unhappily, she had noticed this in a few of the other times in their recent "intimate" moments and she didn't like it.

Sean wrapped his paws around her body and just held her close. Carefully her reached down and brought the covers up, only adding to Emily's disappointment. She sighed again but felt the warmth of his furry body and the caring hold of his paws so figured it was just as well.

Soon he was asleep, but his hard on was still there, something that bothered Emily even more. He was horny, he clearly wanted to have sex with her now, but what had stopped him? Why didn't he like it when she kissed him?

It took awhile but the rabbit eventually fell asleep, although she was terribly puzzled. She was going to figure this out, her attitude and outlook on life demanded that she would.

Chapter 2 Rift

Spetsnfte Barracks Aboard Wolf Battleship Borodino 0802 Military Time

"Lieutenant? Lieutenant?" a gruff voice called out, interrupting Lieutenant Mihail Girgori light sleep.

"What is it Sergeant?" he replied, rubbing the fur on his scruff.

Reaching into the pouch on his armored chest plate the wolf Operator pulled out a small file, "Here's the report sir, on the Federal officer being transferred here tomorrow for observations."

Misha frowned; he hadn't informed his Operators that the Federal officer would be their new commander, not just an observer, as they perceived he would be. Sighing he took the file and the Sergeant walked out.

"Doofy fucker," the Lieutenant whispered to himself watching the Sergeant walk out.

The file was the same as all the other files he'd seen before about Federal soldiers. It was exactly the same except in one way; nowhere did it say "Terminate." It listed his height, weight, age, species, biographical and military records, all normal. When he was done he noticed a second file within the folder. It was that of another Federal, this one a Captain as well but he was a she, something the wolf couldn't grasp. He knew, as did all wolves, that the Federals thought it was just okay for females to be equal soldiers as well, even officers, but Girgori couldn't imagine working with one. To only add to his surprise he read, at the end of her file, she was credited as being the other Federal's mate.

"This won't go well," he mumbled to himself as he went over the details of their relationship, "How they would allow this is beyond me."

Misha, above all else, hated females, absolutely despised them. Now in no way was he of the other siding, he was indifferent. He saw relationships like that as a sign of weakness, needing to rely on another for care. And on top of that, the furry that he was to be expected to share feelings with was supposed to be a female. Even Misha wasn't sure why but whenever he was around females he just felt himself filled with resentment and hate. He didn't like them, he didn't want to talk to them, he didn't want anything to do with them. The only thing he was glad for was that in most situations they didn't want anything to do with him either.

All that aside, Lieutenant Girgori knew he was going to have to work with this Federal he was going to like it even less now that he was coming with his mate.

Captain Atric's Stateroom Aboard FN Endeavor 0832 Military Time

Sean stirred slightly and brought the rabbit right out of her sleep. She yawned softly and snuggled against him, not wanting to get up. Yesterday had been a long day and she just wanted to lay with him. She remembered last night; the let down of not having some "activities" and sighed unhappily. Then she realized things were going to get worse, he was going to take her shooting again.

Seeing that he was indeed, still asleep, she had a moment to think. She was sure it wasn't her kisses that actually managed to turn him off, he kissed her own his own without problem last night. It couldn't be that he was trying to avoid a sex act because, of anyone in the universe, Emily knew how much Sean really did enjoy it. Nothing made sense, what was it that turned him off to her?

After thinking for a few moments the rabbit heard Sean's breathing change and he awoke, starting the day with a smile directed right at her.

"What time is it?" he asked as he sat up and wrapped a paw over her shoulder.

Emily shrugged and laid her head down on him. His body was still warm and she melted into him.

Kissing the side of her cheek, which confused her more, Sean asked, "When do you want to go practice on the range?"

"I don't want to," she answered, in a mild huff.

"Then we can't go on this Operation, we can't fight if you can't shoot," he replied bluntly, catching her a bit off toe.

Smiling mischievously Emily said, "Fine."

"Okay you stubborn little thing," he said in a flat tone and got out of the bed, stopping to pat her exposed tail, "I know you and you must want to figure this out."

She shook her head.

"Well I want to figure this out," he continued and, taking her paw, lifted the uninterested rabbit from the bed and sweet-talked her to dress and get ready.

Even with his urging it took almost an hour to get Emily to comply and follow him down to the range and even when the fox got her there she was fairly combative, yet the fox, in a loving way, persisted.

He would set up easy targets, have her watch him knock them down with ease, reset them, give her the gun, and then she would miss at least three-fourths of them. They did this at least six times, each time leaving her more and more discouraged.

Finally she broke down and in a rare instance she sat down and cried. Sean was glad he had closed off the range to everyone but himself and Emily.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said caringly, "It's okay, you don't need to be the best shot-"

"'Best shot?' I can't even hit that fucking target once!" she said with a sniffle.

Sean sat down closer and patted her back, "Lets stop for a minute. Tell me exactly what you do when you shoot, step by step," she nodded, "also try and focus on each thing and tell me about stuff you do that you don't really realize. I think your getting to tight or your not focusing enough that you keep missing."

Still sniffling the rabbit nodded quickly and stood up. To calm her down Sean grabbed her tail softly and cradled it, causing her to jump in his arms.

Turning to smile she picked up her rifle and raised it to her shoulder.

Just as she was about shoot Sean raised a paw, "You don't do anything before you shoot?"

"No," she answered simply.

"Not even turn off the safety?" he asked, surprisingly serious.

Rolling her head in circles she replied, "Yes, I do, what's your point?"

Huffing Sean whispered, "Tell me everything you do. No matter how menial, no matter how trivial, tell me each thing."

She nodded and the fox took the rifle from her. He unloaded it, turned off it's aiming system, which was sad on the general part since the bullet tracer should make missing impossible as long as you move the unit over the target eventually. He wanted her to be able to shoot without it though, a task that didn't seem much harder than training her to use the bullet tracking effectively.

After she took the gun from him she started to load but Sean raised his paw again, this time she got it.

"Go ahead, but speak," he whispered to the embarrassed rabbit, it was a weird thing to do but Sean figured it may solve her problem.

Once again she nodded her head vigorously and raised the weapon and stopped. She took a deep breath and thought how stupid this is but saw nothing but a soft smile on her lover's face so she would humor him.

"Okay I raise it," Emily began, taking another deep breath, "I load in the clip," she did so, "I turn off the safety," she did that as well and the weapon 'beeped,' "Still no bullet tracking?" Sean shook his head for a no, "Well then I sight it and fir-"

"No, no you don't," he said chuckling, "You just went through the operation. I don't think it's your method, I think its you," he thought for a moment and clarified, "Your thinking that is."

"Ohh kay..." she said at a draw.

Smiling Sean went on, "Now go again, but this time, even if you think it's degrading, tell me each thing that goes through your mind as you go through the operation."

She let out an exasperated sigh and lowered the weapon.

"Alright," she sighed, shaking her head at how stupid this was, "I raise the gun, and I," she sighed.

Sean chuckled softly, "Go on Emily, its just me."

"Hmmmp," she sighed, "I raise the gun and I guess I think about my target," she raised it and pointed it down range, "Then I load the mag. I think about being careful when I do that but quick so I don't make to much noise," she did that too, "Then I sight my target, thinking about where on the target I want to hit."

"Which is where honey?" Sean asked kindly.

Whimpering she replied, "Comon Sean this is so stupid!"

The fox looked her square in the eye, his busy tail making very soft circles behind him.

Emily sighed once again but this sigh made him chuckled; "Alright I try to aim at the chest, it's easier to hit," Sean nodded in agreement, he preferred headshots but for general purposes the chest worked, "And after that I just, well shoot."

"Your not scared or anything?" he asked carefully.

She shook her head, her ears stiff as poles on top of her head.

"Not about missing maybe?"

Again she shook her head.

"Even about hurting someone?"

"No Sean, I don't feel anything," Emily replied finally.

The fox stopped and thought for a moment; maybe it was a physical thing.

"Okay," he began and stepped to her side and put his paw on her wrist, "Shoot and try to hit the target the best you can."

She smiled when he touched her wrist and sighted the closest silhouette target. Emily knew she would miss it but figured she'd been doing that all day so one more couldn't hurt.

Carefully she let out a well-controlled burst of three rounds, all of which struck the target and knocked it over.

Actually surprised they both stood there for a long moment but Sean soon said, "I don't know what that was but your heart rate doesn't change when you shoot, which is a good thing. Try again."

He removed his paw from her and stepped back. Emily raised again but, unknowingly, tightened up and her heart rate indeed increased. She shoot another burst, this one not controlled and every shot missed.

The rabbit turned with an annoyed look on her face and was about to fall over when Sean finally, after many hours of working on this, figured it out.

"Hold on Emily," he whispered sweetly, "Sight your target again but don't shoot, just focus on the target."

"Okay?" she replied and did so, not interested anymore in anything, she just wanted to go away from Sean; she hated looking... insufficient in front of him.

Emily focused on the target, looking at the silhouette of the wolf. She stood for what seem like forever but then, to enough of her surprise she almost jumped, Sean came up behind her and wrapped his body around and over hers. His hind legs stood right next to hers, his arms and paws down hers, resting in the same places as hers. Her nuzzled the back of her head and rested his snout on her shoulder.

"Sean lets go back to our ro-"

"No, now just stand like this for a moment," he cut her off in a firm but soft voice.

Not wanting to but unable to stop herself she smiled. Emily smelled his fur and felt it's warmth against her body. Her little tail rubbed his belly and his soft bushy tail wrapped around her leg. She felt very comfortable and at ease, and under his care. She felt his protective hug and had a distinct sense of safety she only felt when he did things like this.

Again in a soft voice, a loving voice, Sean whispered, "Now shoot whenever you want, but go for all the targets."

Emily didn't want to shoot, lest he let go of her when she did. It wasn't often she let herself be so submissive and let him do all the work but she did like it, particularly after the last few days.

Then she noticed, with her body feeling warm and feeling so close to her lover that she finally realized she felt calmer. The rabbit opened up and, looking like a marksman, shot each and every target three times in quick succession.

Once the last target fell they both listened to the echo of her fire die down and they stood embraced like that for another few minutes. Now Sean was sure of what her problem was, why she couldn't shoot. Even if she could never admit it even to him, she got scared when she shot. The fox wasn't sure what she was scare about and it didn't really matter, he was taken with the fact that whatever fear she had melted away when he held her.

"Emily?" he said calmly.

"Yes?" she replied equally calm.

"Are you okay?"

Emily moaned a yes.

"Do you understand what you need to do to be a good shot?"

She shook her head very softly, she hadn't caught on that his comforting hug calmed her enough that she could shoot okay.

Sean pulled himself closer, they were both getting physically hot and he could smell the sweet aroma of her sweat forming beneath her fur, "Just think of this, think of me and my love comforting you and you'll be a good shot."

Emily wasn't so much paying attention but believed him. She had closed her eyes by now and felt his presence leave her. He let go and stepped back, far enough that he had to speak up for her to hear.

"Now do it, but remember how much I love you, just think of that," he said and smiled, knowing what would happen.

She sighed and thought of his hugs; the first time they made love, the feeling of his fur against hers. She shot and hit every target in the head.

The fox chuckled behind Emily and she set down the gun and ran over to him, kissing him right away.

"Thank you Sean! I love you so much! Oh thank you!" she said and kissed his snout and cheeks.

Sean just smiled, glad that he was able to understand at least part of her, it just turned out to be the most important part; who she loved.

Feeling very, very happy Emily rubbed her body against his and said in a playful tone, "I can't thank you enough Sean," she winked reached around behind him and played with his tail, "lets go back to our room."

The fox grinned and they both practically ran back to their room. This time they didn't even make inside their room, they started kissing and grouping each other against their door while Emily fumbled with the door, trying to open it. The various furries and people in their hall stared with utter surprise by the couple although some of them were actually becoming used to it.

The door gave way and, without care on Emily's part, they fell in with Sean on top, their hind legs hanging out the door. They both scrunched up and Sean kicked the door close and then they really got into it.

Each undressed the other as without loosing a beat or kiss in the process. They ravaged each other's bodies, both in a self-stimulated "heat."

"Oh God Sean lets fuck!" she moaned as he grinded his now nude body against hers.

The rabbit's pussy was gleaming with her juices and his cock glistened as well with his pre-cum. He could barely contain himself and he filled her up quickly with his cock.

Emily groaned immediately at the feeling, she had been begging for it for a few days and her only thought was that it was worth the wait.

He wasn't usually this ready to go but the sign of her comfort and enjoyment of his company had really affected him. That, and that she was acting like an equal partner, not to overbearing. Sean liked it and his rapid and amazingly pleasurable thrust attested to that.

"I'm gonna cum! Oh God Sean I'm gonna cum!" Emily yelled and rocked her hips against his.

That was a great sound to the fox; she was really acting like they were partners. Usually she made sure he came first, not letting herself enjoy it, but now she was having fun and it made it better for Sean.

His cock thrusted in and out quickly and they both felt her pussy lips start to quiver. Sean held her close. The rabbit's ears were pined down on the sides of her head and he could see her flushed and excited cheeks beneath her creamy brown fur.

"Oh, ohhhh, ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she moaned over and over and felt herself starting to cum.

Just then, as if sent by evil itself, they both heard a knock at the door.

"Uhh... Captain Atric, Captain Grey? Your both needed down on the bridge ASAP," the voice said.

The fire burning inside her cunny was put on hold for a moment and Emily yelled violently, "Get the fuck out of here! Tell them to fuck themselves!"

They both heard fast footsteps leave from the door and Sean eased back onto the rabbit, but it wasn't enough for her.

She reached up and grabbed him lower, almost choking him in the process, and yelled, "Lets fuck Sean! Fill me now!"

Sean sighed, "No, we have to go..."

In disbelief and quite a bit of anger she replied, "Why?!"

For a moment he considered telling her the truth but decided it was a bad time so without a reply he removed his still hard cock from inside her and redressed. Emily sat there, watching.

"Why?" she repeated, although in a whisper quiet voice it still had the anger and disbelief, but Sean failed to hear the hurt in it as well.

With a decent amount of urging he got Emily to redress, and, with even more coaxing needed, got her to follow him to the bridge. They were met by only Lieutenant Colonel Sterling. The dog was staring out of the windows down at the planet the ship orbited below.

"Sir?" Sean said, looking back to see a very distracted Emily glaring at the dog.

Sterling turned and smiled at first but saw the clear look of annoyance on both Emily's and Sean's muzzle and immediately regretted calling them down.

"Captains," he began carefully, "I understand you will be working with the wolf Spetsnfte Brigade during this coming Operation yes?"

They both nodded, although Emily huffed at the thought.

"Then I guess it goes without saying that I need you both to do two things," the dog continued and gestured to the door.

Two soldiers walked in with a dolly. On it was a set up P9 Armor system, it's head portion covered with blood and a huge dent in its side.

The dog sighed and regained the two Captains' attention, "One; I need you to observe the Spetsnfte unit very, very carefully. I cannot emphasize enough the need for this. We have no idea how they work, what their tactics are and if they are ready to work with us, much less for us."

"And two sir?" Emily asked, looking back and forth from Sterling too the armor, wondering what could have caused that.

"Two;" he continued, "We need you two to be on your best behavior."

They had a look of confusion on their mugs.

Sterling shrugged, "Of all the units, your will be the 'closest' to wolves. Our standard infantry will work with them but we can't really mix the units for fear of," he paused and chuckled softly, "friendly fire. You two will likely be watched as closely as you watch them so we need a good impression."

Emily and Sean nodded. Even if they may be having slight problems with each other they were both smart enough to know not to fuck around with the wolves, particularly now.

Sean put up a paw and nodded towards the armor, "I take it there's something important about that?"

"Yes Captain," Sterling replied and walked over to the armor, "this was Consular Reynolds' while he was down on the planet."

The dog gestured for them to come closer. Emily stuck her paw in the dent on the side of the armor's head. She shook her head, wondering how Steve had survived that.

"He and Mrs. Reynolds claim that some, up until now, unknown wolf rifle did this," Sterling said, a bit of resentment noticeable in his voice, apparently he wasn't happy he didn't discover it first, "It's clear that this weapon could be more than strong enough to penetrate P9 armor at anything but the most extreme ranges."

Nodding already Sean whispered, in awe over the power, "I take it we need to be most careful about this?"

"Yes you do," Sterling replied, "We surmise that Reynolds was extremely lucky he didn't get killed," the dog placed his paw on the dent, "it should have penetrated, which means if you encounter it you need to be extra careful. From the description from the Reynolds this rifle's round goes considerably faster than the speed of sound which means-"

"We'll have no warning, right, so what do we do?" Emily asked, not worried but intrigued.

The dog sighed again; "I would suggest that you avoid urban situations since it's kinda easy for a sniper to hide there. Also I would advise that you never leave the armor down when you're on duty. Even if this thing can penetrate it its still much safer with the armor up."

Sean chuckled nervously and asked, "Can I ask you a few things?"

"Shoot."

"Do you have any idea what our mission is, specifically?"

The dog looked at Emily who glared back, still fiery with anger, and shuttered, "You and the wolf Spetsnfte are to find, capture or kill, the new wolf leader, one," he opened a pouch on his BDU's and took out a file, "Lyon Mackenzie. He claims to be a far cousin of the Alpha wolf but, clearly, has fewer followers."

"And how are we to do this?" Sean replied.

Smiling Sterling answered, "That Captain Atric, I leave up to you and the Spetsnfte, they'll be helping you track."

"Wait a second," Emily said in objection, "We have to rely on wolves?"

For the third time in this conversation Sterling shrugged, something uncommon for intelligence officers but then again this was new ground to all of them.

"I don't like that either," Sean replied.

Unfortunately Emily didn't pick up on what he was trying to say behind his words, she just stood firm in her objection to rely on wolf intelligence.

"We don't have much of a choice Captains," Sterling replied, "But Consular Reynolds has the complete guarantee of General Rodina that the Spetsnfte will as compliant as any Federal unit you've worked with."

Emily huffed, "That's quite a statement," she paused and added, "and I don't believe it."

"Well I'm sorry to say you don't have much of a choice Captain Gates, if you don't work with them then you don't work."

It was only after Sterling said this that he realized that was a stupid statement. It was more than clear the rabbit wanted no part of this and he had basically given her an ultimatum.

Sean, seeing both their discomforts, said in a careful, yet full voice, "We'll work fine with them sir, but we'll still keep a close eye on them to be sure."

Emily now shifted her anger to Sean. Why was he agreeing with Sterling? Why did he always side with the Federation?

Not wanting to seem less in value Emily walked up behind the fox took his paw and said in as strong a voice she could muster, "Well Sean and I are going to get some rest and eat a good meal. We'll be linking up with the Spetsnfte tomorrow."

Sterling took the hint and nodded and, quickly, the rabbit lead Sean back to their room. She practically tugged at him, wanting to have him to herself.

When she reached the room Sean was now a bit of fire too and walked in himself.

"What was that Emily?" he asked, the annoyance in his voice clearly present.

Ignoring his question Emily yelled out as she shut the door, "Why do you always do that?!"

"Do what?" he said meanly, not liking how the rabbit was acting.

"Why do you always agree with everyone else but me?" she replied, crossing her paws across her chest.

Sean stood there for a long moment staring at the rabbit he was in love with. He didn't doubt it but he was angry with her. Of the two of them, she was the one always out of line, trying to be in control.

Because of his angered state Sean made a mistake in saying, "Emily do you love me?"

In her mind that was it and, deeply hurt and pained by this, walked to the bed, sat down and started to cry. Sean tried to comfort her but she shoved him away.

"Go to sleep Sean," she said through her cries in her pillow.

Still angry he replied, "There you go again, always trying-" he cut himself off.

"Always what?" she said, her voice cracking from crying but still full of anger.

"You're right; shut up and go to sleep Emily," he said coldly and laid down on the far side from her.

Neither slept well that night.

Briefing Room Aboard FN Endeavor 1435 Military Time

"So what did you tell them- strike that, what didn't you tell them?" General Osing asked the dog.

His tail making anxious circles behind him the Lieutenant Colonel sat down in his chair, sighed and began; "Well General, I didn't tell them that we'd be observing them. They know to report to us but they don't realize they are a study in their own right."

Seeing the dog's discomfort Osing sat in and said quietly, "Your not comfortable with this? Why?"

"I... uhh... I don't think that having two furries in love on active duty is a good idea," he argued, "I saw how they acted with each other and I think more problems will ensue," the canine sighed, "In short: it won't work well, not for long at least."

Osing nodded in agreement, he was starting to see this was true. In the last two weeks he had to promote eight enlisted soldiers to be of equal rank to their chosen "partner." After the Reynolds' escapades many new couples were forming; soldiers wanted to love each other. The bonds between two soldiers in combat were only made lager when they were able to love each other but it was starting to be more and more clear that it did distract them. Emily and Sean would be a good test, hence why General Osing had suggested it. In reality, they wouldn't have bent to accommodate Captain Atric's request, they would have just put another officer in his place, but Osing had advised Consular Reynolds otherwise.

"Well it's to late now," the General commented.

Sterling agreed.

"Shouldn't be that big of a problem," Osing chuckled, "those two are just as in love as Steve and Cathy are."

Sterling chuckled nervously, something Osing caught but failed to realize.

Captain Atric's Stateroom Aboard FN Endeavor 0747 Military Time

They awoke just as bitter as they had fallen asleep. Sean dressed and left quickly, not saying anything but sort of ordering her where to go and when to be there.

In reality, they were both terrified. Neither liked fighting with the other and what made matters worse, each was fighting a battle with themselves. Each of their thoughts were separate. Emily was angry that Sean always chose the mission over her and Sean was angry she always seemed to try and prove herself, even go so far as to do something for him without any benefit for herself, like she wanted so much to please him that she really didn't love him.

As soon as Sean left Emily broke down again and cried. She hated seeming weak in front of him, particularly now that she feared his love might be nonexistent. Her thoughts were if she looked weak, then her lover wouldn't respect her and then wouldn't love her anymore. She figured that was why he kept siding with the military over her.

She rarely in her life cried like this but the fact was she loved him deeply. And even if she didn't, although that was unlikely, she was bound to him. She had gone to the doctor and it was a fact, she was going to have his offspring. Whether or not she loved him or her loved would be irrelevant, they were going to have something in common but Emily desperately didn't want that, she really didn't. She wanted to love him and for him to love her but she was extremely scared he was falling out of love with her.

Emily vowed not to let that happen; no way would she let that happen.

***

Sean entered the drop bay alone and went right into the nearby dropship. He found his armor and weapon, set up his equipment, and sat down with a huff.

"What is her problem?" he said aloud, feeling that he was alone.

He felt more than physically alone; he felt like Emily had left him mentally, that she didn't love him. All he tried to do was make things safe for her, make her feel better about herself, but she never seemed to accept this, she always seemed like for everything he did she had to outdo him to really feel safe and, because of this, Sean was starting to doubt his ability to do those things for her. And, because of this feeling, the fox worried that if she appeared to need to do everything he did for her better, than she might not love him or feel that he could protect her. He worried about having her in combat; he worried about trying to protect her in combat. They had been so well with each other just a week ago but now, now Sean was worried he would never hold her again.

"Oh no..." he whispered, "Why did I say that?"

He had been mean to her the last night and he was more than aware of the fact she had been hurt. Sean had bluntly told her to shut up and, in a rare instance, she complied completely, and that scared him. What if he had made up her mind with those two simple words and she didn't love him anymore? Plus, to weigh even heavier on his mind, Sean knew she was going to have his offspring and he worried for them now. God forbid they find themselves not loving each other anymore what would happen to them?

As if a prayer to God had been answered the pilot, a ferret, stepped in, saluted Captain Atric and went up to the cockpit. A few minutes later Emily walked in and sat down silently at the far end of the craft.

Sean gazed empathetically at his rabbit but she looked away towards the door, not even acknowledging his presence. In a unique instanced when they where together, neither felt any love.

"Captains we're ready to take off. Shall we?" the pilot asked, sticking his head out of the cockpit.

After nodding to the pilot Sean returned his gaze to Emily who still ignored him. The ship rose up and out of the bay, across the expansion of space that filled the gap between the FN Endeavor and the wolf battleship Borodino.

Finally Sean sighed and looked away, defeated and alone. He dreaded the coming days, the coming years, the coming seconds. It was too much; what if she really didn't love him anymore?

"I... hhhuh..." Sean moaned but either Emily didn't hear him, which was possible since her ears were pinned sadly to the sides of her head, or she just ignored him, which seemed very plausible now.

In truth, Emily did hear him but she refused to look at him, all she managed to do was whisper, whisper so quietly that even Sean being a fox and having very attuned hearing he still didn't pick up her horsed words of, "I love you."

She wasn't rational at the moment and the rabbit thought she had said it loud enough for Sean to hear but that he just didn't answer and she now felt worse then before and had to use all her mental strength to not cry.

A few tense minutes later the craft came to a stop inside the Borodino's landing bay. Both Sean and Emily found themselves strangely looking forward to meeting the wolves. The pilot informed them that they could exit now and the wide bay doors opened.

The two Federal Officers were met by the sight of about forty wolves, moving about in the massive launch bay. The obvious first instinct for both of them was to duck and cover themselves but they both stayed under control.

A group of four wolves, the lead one being General Rodina, came towards the bay and Emily and Sean stepped out, still not acknowledging the other.

"Good morning Captain Atric, Captain Gates, good to see you both," Rodina said to both of them in a calm voice.

"Hello General," Sean replied and chanced a look at Emily.

She didn't look happy at all, she felt completely alone. Her lover had abandoned her and now she was among a species she didn't exactly have tastes for.

Rodina turned and gestured to a short, however well built, wolf officer, "This is Lieutenant Mihail Girgori. He will be acting as your XO and, to make things easier for both you and the Spetsnfte, he will work with them specifically, this way this first mixed unit goes on without any problems."

"Oh," Sean said and half turned to Emily who still had an angered look on her muzzle, "I thought that..."

"What Captain?" Rodina asked. He could smell the tension of the two officers but he could smell that it wasn't just because they were, literally, surrounded by wolves.

Stopping and grinding his teeth for a moment, Sean returned his gaze to the wolf General and replied, "Nothing, I think things will be fine General Rodina."

"Then I'll leave you to prepare," the wolf continued, "We expect you to begin your Operations either today or tomorrow."

He left the group of former enemies, figuring that the excited state of the fox and rabbit will make them less likely to be anti-social to his wolves.

Misha growled as his superior, well one of them now, walked away. The rabbit shifted uneasily, something both Misha and her mate picked up on. The wolf shook his head at the thought, chuckling a little at the thought of how the Federation could allow such a thing as a female in the service, and that they beat his military to boot. It sickened the wolf to his stomach.

Finally he removed his paws from his pockets and nudged his muzzle towards the closest door, "Captain Atric is it? Do you want to see the Spetsnfte now?"

"No," the fox replied, looking around, "No, I think its best that we talk first."

"Okay," Misha said and gestured for them to follow.

Sean let Emily go first, wanting her to feel safer but she didn't notice this. They followed Girgori through various halls and bulkheads until they reached what Emily perceived as and Sean knew to be the wolf equivalent to a briefing room. It was undoubtedly bugged and they both knew it but they figured that there shouldn't be anything said that really would be bad to have on tape.

"What do you need Captain Atric?" the wolf asked uninterested, he was avoiding calling the fox "sir" at all costs, hoping it may tick him off.

Sean did notice it but didn't let it bother him, there were more important things right now than that, "Well we- I need to know what you want done?"

"With what Captain?" Girgori replied, a bit surprised by the question,

"Well like how you want me to work with you," Sean explained," I don't really know how your unit operates. I figure it'll be similar to the Rangers and I'm sure you have a general idea how our operations work, but is there anything you want me to do differently or not to do or, well you get the point."

The lieutenant was speechless. He had figured these Federals to be ignorant savages, no discipline and little true ability over well-made weapons and equipment.

The wolf sighed and answered, "No Captain, I can't think of a thing you need to do, just you need to expect something different from us."

"And that is?" Sean asked carefully.

Misha shrugged, "Well you are aware our original leader was the Alpha's son, right?"

The fox nodded.

"Well he had an..." Girgori searched for the right words, "unique outlook on operations. You would call them brutal tactics. Now I know you don't want that and I'm considerably less violent then he was but we hold true to the shoot first, ask questions later tactic."

"That's not a problem," Sean replied.

The Rangers were a strike force too and only were involved in Operations, usually, where hats on the ground were all that mattered.

"That includes civilians," the wolf replied, not showing any compassion or change in his cold voice.

"Ahh," Sean began, realizing where this was going, "Well lieutenant, in this case that won't be a problem there's nothing but wol-"

The fox stopped himself short but it was too late, Girgori had caught it. The wolf growled very lowly and took a deep breath.

"Sorry lieutenant, you understand," Sean said, trying to cover himself and then went cold himself, "but I'm sure you'd be the same way in my shoes."

The wolf didn't answer.

"Anyway, for this situation civilian populations won't be a problem cause there isn't one," Sean went on, trying to shift Girgori's mind right away, "but in the future that will be unacceptable, their members of the Federation and you have to protect them," Sean took a moment and thought, then added, "Just like we protect you and your family."

Girgori looked at him strangely, no one had put it like that. The wolves still saw themselves as a separate nation but this Federal had just said that he, a wolf, was part of the Federation.

Not liking the subject the wolf looked over at the captain's mate. He huffed at her, a rabbit of all things.

"These Federals can't even stay in their own species," Misha thought to himself then said aloud, "Why is that aloud in the Federation?"

"What?" Sean asked, and followed the wolf's gaze.

The wolf nudged his muzzle towards the now scared rabbit, "Why does the Federation allow them in the military and to be with the males to boot?"

"What?!" Emily yelled out, having been quiet this whole time.

She slammed her paws down on the table but the lieutenant didn't stir at all. He hated females and, not being smart enough, wasn't afraid of them.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked Sean, ignoring Emily for the most part.

Sean had a look of utter shock and stuttered for a moment but finally answered, "Wel-well why wouldn't we?"

Girgori shrugged, "Well female's don't have a place on the battlefield. All their for is for raising pups," the wolf thought for a moment and added, "she's your mate too, don't you think that's a distraction."

"What?!" Emily repeated, "You don't think we belong on the battlefield? I killed plenty of your kind."

They both, of all things particularly Sean, ignored her. He was interested in what was driving this animal.

Shaking his head the fox replied, "I don't think so."

"I hate females but that's just me," Girgori added, again his voice cold enough to tell he wasn't making anything up.

Emily was now silent, she just stared astonished by the wolf and, what now seemed like a joke, her lover's reaction to the wolf. She sat down and wanted to kill them both, especially Sean. Wolves were known to be cold but Sean was supposed to be nice, although last night had shown her otherwise.

To at least get one word in she said and got up to walk out, "He's not my 'mate' or lover or husband or anything to me."

With that she walked out as coolly and calmly as she could and almost ran through the halls back to the assault ship. The pilot left her alone as she sat down but didn't cry. The true force of what she had said hadn't quite registered in Emily's mind.

Back in the briefing room Sean was blown away, but didn't feel anything either. He had been angry with her all day but had tried to be nice yet she had been a bitch back all day so he didn't feel like running after her.

The wolf chuckled, "That's why I don't like females, bunch of nut cases."

Sean found himself, strangely, starting to agree with Girgori.

"Shall we see the Spetsnfte now?" the lieutenant went on and nodded to the door.

Unable to answer verbally Sean just nodded and the two got up and walked into the nearby barracks. It was true, it really was a small unit. There were maybe forty wolves in the room, maybe, all of various sizes. There were some shorter than Sean and some that dwarfed the fox. All were either close to, or holding their weapons and they all watched Sean quite attentively. He could smell the tension in the air.

"And these are them," the lieutenant said proudly, "thirty-seven in all, each has a specialty but each is overall an expert infantry and Special Forces Operator. I paw-picked most of them and the few that remained, after the trials, are," the wolf looked Sean in the eye, "up to the standards of the Federation."

Unafraid but eager, the fox strode out, he felt every eye boring down on him, and stood at the rooms center, "Can you all deal with me being in charge?"

There was a look of confusion on every wolf's face and they all shifted their gaze right to Girgori who was clearly, unhappy, but he nodded to the captain. The wolf was actually finding himself liking Sean's presence, he was kind of like of like a wolf himself, from what he saw from the fox so far at least.

"They'll work," Misha called out from behind and Sean saw nodes of agreement come from most at first, then all of the wolves.

Nodding his own head Sean replied ,"Good, well tomorrow we go down to the surface to track down and eliminate, no capture just eliminate, Lyon Mackenzie, the rebel leader. We track, find and kill him and we all come home, clear?"

More nods.

"Good, good," the fox repeated and walked out, followed closely by Misha.

"We'll leave tomorrow, early in the morning to start," Sean began to the lieutenant, walking along the halls aimlessly, "You brief them, I figure they looked a bit shocked at the sight of me so it's a good idea to keep contact with me down for the moment."

"Yes Captain and where are we going exactly?" he asked, not sure of the details.

"Uhh," the fox thought for a moment, "New York? I think it was? Ya that was it, on the smaller land mass. Our intelligence figures he's hiding in a huge city located there."

Girgori nodded, "And what are you going to do?"

Captain Atric shrugged, "I guess I'll try and talk to Emily, my..." he trailed off, thinking of what she said, "On second thought can you bring me to my room."

The wolf nodded and assigned an orderly to bring Sean to his room. It wasn't nearly as nice as the room he and Emily had been sharing for the past week or two but it was of equal standards as to a normal officer's quarters on a Federal ship. Sean noticed for the first time that there wasn't the familiar humming of the ship's engines anywhere onboard. He figured it was because of the wolves' use of small engines.

About two hours later Emily came in and stared at the fox in surprise, apparently she had figured they'd have separate rooms but the wolves figured they were still on good terms with each other.

She walked passed the bed without a word, not even glancing at the fox and went into the bathroom. She washed her eyes and fur and returned.

"This isn't going to work, you sleep on the couch," she gestured to the small padded chair in the corner.

Angry at her attitude Sean replied quickly and coldly, "Fuck you."

Emily stared at him for a moment and clinched her jaw, "I wish I wasn't having your offspring."

That hit home and Sean clamed up even more, "Get out Emily, before I do or say something that will get in trouble with MP's."

For a second longer she stared at him but did what he said, not because he said it but because she didn't want to be in there. She'd rather wander aboard a wolf vessel than be in a small room with him a minute longer. She walked back to the wolf barracks and knocked on the door.

Misha came to the door and looked exasperated at the sight of Emily.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly, Emily was starting to think she hate all males in general.

"I need a room, I can- I won't stay with Sea- Captain Atric," she said, steaming with anger.

Not wanting to deal with this Girgori replied, "I don't think we have any rooms left, that was mine but we gave it to you two since we figured you'd be together."

"There's not a single free bed on this ship, a battleship?" the rabbit said, having the urge to go back to the Endeavor and go home.

The wolf shrugged, "Probably but I don't know. There's a few free in here but I don't think that's good for them, they don't agree with females in the military either."

"I don't care, I just need to sleep someplace away from Captain Atric," she replied, figuring anything was better right now.

Girgori sighed and ushered her in. The wolves stared at her as she walked to the back of the room and Misha gave her the farthest bunk. She laid down and cradled the pillow right away, angry at everything except herself.

Figuring that she was best left alone, lest she try to talk or bitch and moan to him, Misha walked back to his bunk and laid down as well. He hated females and so far this experience was teaching him that his opinions were well placed.

Back at her newly acquired bunk Emily forced back the tears. She was having regrets but not about what she said but what she had done. The rabbit found herself regretting ever falling in love with Sean, she had thought so highly of him but if these were his true colors then she had no interest with him, but it was terrible in her mind since, although she denied it even to herself, she still had feelings for him. She wanted him to be nice, to agree with her and side with her always like he had done before but Emily just couldn't see that happening anytime soon.

Emily never got upset and was known for being very strong, if not a little masculine herself, and she refused to let herself cry over the issue and just rolled over and went to sleep.

***

Sean faired no better that night than Emily. He read various things, information reports and such on his data pad but no matter how hard he couldn't stop himself from thinking of the rabbit. He just couldn't figured out why she felt she always had to been in control and wouldn't let Sean do things, even for her, by himself.

Seeing that he couldn't focus very well on anything, the fox got up and walked about the ship. The orderly assigned to him, who appeared to be a very young wolf, lead him to the shooting range. There were maybe twenty wolves there, all shooting the standard issue wolf rifle.

Sean hadn't gone to shoot, he had gone to get shot at. He reached down and turned on his armor, instantly gaining the attention of every wolf on the range. The fox raised his paws defensively and, carefully, walked down the range where a wolf officer, a captain from what Sean could tell, was trying to hit a silhouette target that looked like a human shape.

"I know you want to, go ahead," Sean called down to the wolf and stood straight.

The wolf, obviously, hesitated but a second nod from Sean convinced him enough and he raised his rifle and took aim.

A trio of rounds struck the armor and harmlessly bounced off Sean's chest.

He gestured to his head and a quick, follow up trio stuck the helmet and bounced off just as harmlessly.

Sean signaled an "O.K." sign and stepped off the range and walked over to the wolf. It turns out the fox had been wrong, he wasn't a captain, Sean couldn't recognize what rank or what was this wolf's job.

The wolf on the other hand knew exactly who Sean was and what he was.

"Captain Atric right?" the wolf said, looking the armored behemoth over.

Sean nodded, "I'm afraid I don't know who you are."

"I uhh... don't exactly have a rank, not one in such a military way that is," the wolf replied, the answer peaking Sean's curious nature.

The wolf hesitated for a moment and admitted, "I'm part of our intelligence community, but we don't hold ranks like they do in the Federation."

"Ahh," Sean said, now realizing the extent of who he was really talking to, "How is it you know my name?"

The wolf just smiled and shrugged, "I've already, well we've already begun sharing information with your Intelligence units. In fact I meet Mr. Sterling just yesterday, he spoke highly of you."

"That would be Lieutenant Col- never mind," the fox answered, then figured this would be a good opportunity, "What do you know about Lyon Mackenzie?"

The wolf chuckled, "That's what I like about the Ranger's, you all go right to business. Mackenzie's a nutcase first and foremost. Be very careful around him, keep your armor on at all times, he'll likely rig himself with explosives to kill his attackers lest he be captured or have his body put on display."

Sean was about to add something but a buzzing sound came from the wolf's pants and he removed a data-pad.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I have to go but if you need any information just go to the Intelligence department, we're under order's to give you whatever you need to complete this mission."

After the wolf had gone for a few minutes Sean detached his own rifle from his back and did a little shooting, but stopped himself knowing it would be a bother to try and get more ammo for it. He wasn't looking forward to it but he knew eventually he would be stuck using a wolf rifle.

Actually there wasn't anything about this mission he was looking forward to anymore. He had been glad that this was supposed to be it, after this he and Emily would retire or at least step down from active duty but now he wasn't sure if he would ever speak to her again.

Done with exploring the wolf ship Sean returned to his room and for the first time felt alone and upset. He really wished Emily could be more reasonable. He wanted desperately to take care of her but she was to damn stubborn Eventually he went to sleep, dreading the coming days.

Chapter 3 Failure

Launch Bay Aboard Wolf Battleship Borodino 0602 Military Time

Misha walked aboard the dropship and saw the two Federals, each sitting at opposite ends of the troop bay. The wolf thought it was kind of funny, how little control Captain Atric had over his mate.

They both acknowledged the wolf but didn't even look at each other. Lieutenant Girgori was followed up by his entire platoon of Spetsnfte and each took a seat on board. Figuring he'd rather deal with Captain Atric than Emily the wolf walked over and sat in the seat across from the fox.

Sean nodded but seemed distracted. He didn't notice the wolves, which was a shame, he had never seen such a thing. All of the wolves were in full body armor, similar to his own. It was black, dark black, each had a chest plate, leg plates, and a large helmet that curved up from the back of the chest plate up and down the front of the wolves' noses. Resembling human soldiers of antiquity, its hard not to wonder if the wolves had ever met a knight for the inspiration of their armor. They were pretty intimidating and they looked like they could take a decent amount of damage.

"There shouldn't be any resistance when we land," Misha began, knowing a distracted soldier was a bad soldier, "they don't know that we're aware of their presence."

The fox nodded again, still not fully aware of what was going on. He had a lot on his mind, seeing Emily looking sound and actually fine had scared him, coupled with what she said last night Sean was afraid she might do something drastic.

The dropship rose up and speed out of the bay. It was going to be a quick unload, even if there wasn't going to be any real resistance it was still better to keep the element of surprise. Both the Rangers and the Spetsnfte knew one of the best advantages a unit can obtain in combat was surprise.

It was only about twelve minutes before everyone in the troop bay felt the ship violently decelerate and a rough touchdown on what felt like hard, very hard, ground. The door's opened to an eerie, but not unfamiliar sight.

Although it was early morning and the sun hadn't quite come up everyone, as they piled out of the dropship, could clearly see a huge city. Sean had seen bigger, as had all the wolves, but none had seen something like this. The city was... strange to say the least. They had touched down in a part, a very, very old part called Brooklyn and no one had seen these kind of building's in a city. Usually slums like these were on their own but these were right in the middle of a big city.

The Spetsnfte spread out in a very well executed formation along the road they had landed on. Sean kneeled down and looked up just in time to see the wolf dropship screech away.

"We need to set up a CP Captain," Misha said into the COM line.

The fox nodded and gestured to the best-looking building in the immediate area.

Lieutenant Girgori stood up and ushered his troops in. Emily, who was the only one not in any armor system whatsoever, stayed relatively close to Misha but not Sean, she was so afraid he might not save her in a bad situation she found herself trusting the wolf more than him.

The group entered and cleared the house with precision; top floor, second, first and basement were all fine. They set up a COM relay on the third floor and made bunks on the first. Outside a couple of the Spetsnfte set up motion sensors along the roads and alleyway's leading to their selected CP. By noon they had a well-established and well-concealed base of operations.

Sean, Emily, and Misha met on the second floor at about 1300 hours. They sat down on a moldy, unpainted table and Captain Atric set up his data-pad so that it projected its display of the city.

"Alright," he began, although he felt awkward still not speaking to Emily in any other way but this, "We have a relative location or tip or whatever, where Lyon is," the map hummed and focused in on what looked like and island, "he's, supposedly, somewhere on this island just a bit north, north-east of here."

He paused for a moment and looked the two officers over. Both where silent but each had a completely different expression on their face. Girgori had the face you'd expect of an officer in a briefing; eager, focused, but patient. Emily on the other hand looked scared, confused, and out of place. It was then Sean realized it for the first time; she shouldn't be a captain, she shouldn't be an officer. The only reason they promoted her was to be of equal rank to him, an equal lover, something that she still failed to understand which pissed Sean off to no end.

Seeing no questions were coming from either of them Sean continued, "We suspect he's hiding inside one of the skyscrapers out there which, as you both know, makes this a bit tougher."

A nod only came from Girgori, Emily still sat motionless and uncomfortable.

"We can't just destroy every building, he'll evac long before that unless we got very lucky-"

"Which never happens in the real world," Misha finished for the fox, he was starting to like this Federal, his mate however, that was a different story, "So we have to clear each and everyone."

"Which would take to long I know," Sean continued, "We need to limit our search area down from 20 square miles, to an exact building; any ideas?"

Neither answered.

Sean sighed and began carefully, "Well lieutenant, you may not be comfortable talking about tactics that you and the wolves use but you must know some hole, some idea or some action Lyon might be doing that can help locate him."

"Did you sweep for bio-sighs?" the wolf suggested.

"Ya," Sean said shaking his head, "The whole city glows. The local wildlife must have had its way with the city once the humans left it."

Misha chuckled, "Strange tastes men had?"

The fox shrugged, he wasn't focusing on that yet but just from this room he could tell the humans must have come a long way from when they built this city to where they were now.

"So any other ideas?" Sean asked.

Lieutenant Girgori licked his teeth inside his mouth, "Well, what about areas were there's nothing?"

"Why?" Sean replied, although he was catching on fast.

"Well we tend to eat in the field, we rarely carry stores of food so if you see an area with a laps of life in it," the wolf shrugged, "That might be good sign."

Sean pressed a few buttons on his data-pad and up came the 3D image of the city that recorded life signs. A few, maybe eight or nine areas, were considerably less bright with signs than the rest of the city.

The fox clenched his teeth, "It's still to broad, but hold on," he marked their locations, "Anything else?"

Girgori thought for a moment but nothing came to his mind, he wasn't sure what kind of training or what kind of understanding Lyon had of their tactics.

"Well then we haven't got much of a choice, we're gona havta' clear every one of those locations," Sean replied, feeling a bit discouraged, "We'll work our way North to South."

Sitting up a straight the wolf laid his paws on the table, "I'll station at least a squad with heavy weapons at the Southern tip, to cut off an escape."

"No, that wouldn't help," Sean said, looking over the map very carefully, "There's at least nine other ways off that Island. No its best we stay at full force and if we don't find that wo- Lyon then we keep it quiet."

Both Emily and Sean heard a low growl come from the wolf, he had caught Sean's falter. Ignoring the fox's mistake Girgori nodded and walked out, Sean figuring he was going to go brief the rest of his soldiers.

That left Emily and Sean alone to their own thoughts. For a long time, maybe thirty minutes, they both sat there, each of their angered states growing slowly. Although both fuming with anger they both desperately wanted to talk to the other, at least tell the other why they were so angry but it was no use. Sean was sure that Emily was to stubborn but in reality he was just as persistent as she was, probably why they made a real good couple. As a testament to that neither wanted to be the first to exit the room, nor did either of them wanted to be the first to beg for forgiveness of the other.

Another thirty minutes past and neither made any big motions, not past a scratch of their fur or a sniffle from the old, dusty air. They were both trying to figure out what the other was thinking.

Sean sighed, not intending to say anything just an innocent sigh but Emily sat up straighter and leaned in, expecting something. When the fox didn't go any further or say anything Emily felt angrier, like he had tricked her into showing interest in him. Sean had caught it and himself thought she was going to forward something, anything, but no words came from her lips either and he grew angrier too.

For a full stretch of two hours they just sat their not talking, barely acknowledging the other yet still awaiting anything, a word a gesture anything to show the other would apologize.

This uncomfortable situation was finally brought to and end when Lieutenant Girgori walked in. Emily and Sean were both glad that the wolf had walked in, seeing him as a medium to speak.

Misha however was a little... surprised by what he met.

"Have you two been sitting in here all day?" he asked, tilting his head puzzled.

"Yes," Emily answered, beating Sean to the punch.

The wolf shook of his surprise and sat down in his seat, although his gray tail betrayed his interest in the situation. He could smell the tense air.

"So what's new lieutenant?" Sean asked, sitting up and itching himself, something he had been waiting a long time to do.

"Well," the wolf begun, "We're ready to go whenever you are. I figure it's best by night, we all have some kind of optics, I take it your armor does as well?"

"Yep," the fox replied, he seemed a bit troubled again.

The wolf looked captain Atric's supposed mate over, she wasn't a bad looking rabbit or female. Girgori had no real interest females in general but he could see why the fox had an interest in her.

"Why doesn't she have armor?" he asked, nodding his head to her.

Emily was just about fed up with lieutenant Girgori referring to her as "she" or "your mate" and she stood up and again, slammed her paws on the table. The wolf still didn't react in the way she wanted, but did turn his head to see what was wrong with her.

"I don't care if you have a problem with me," Emily yelled at the wolf, "but your going to give me the respect I deserve lieutenant."

This time Misha let out a very low guttural growl, low enough and deep enough that Emily felt a little uncomfortable and wished she could be holding Sean's paw.

"Well I don't care if you may be of higher rank than me cause you sure don't act like it," Misha said in a loud voice, "I can't figure out what the fuck the Federal command staff was thinking when they made you a captain; a captain? What do you ever do that shows you deserve such a rank? Nothing, which is just what I'd expect out of a female."

Emily let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head in disbelief, "What a sexist mutt. I can see why you'd hate females, none would ever wana have anything to do with you with an attitude like that!"

Having heard enough out of her Girgori turned around back to Sean who had a strange look on his face. It was a mixture of surprise and envy, but of whom Misha couldn't put his paw on.

"So I figure we'd leave at about midnight? Maybe an hour before but not any later, who knows how long this could take," the wolf proposed.

Sean was unable to answer and just nodded. The wolf seeing this nodded back and stepped out.

Deciding it was about time to say something Sean cleared his throat and stood up as well, figuring if he was on his paws it would at least make him look stronger than he felt.

"Emily," he began in fake, yet convincing, strong voice, "he's from a very different culture and doesn't like females, which, from the way you've been acting lately, is giving him good reason."

The rabbit looked at him stunned and then stood up as well, not wanting to look small in front of him.

"How dare you Sean!" she yelled, "How dare you let him talk to me like that and not at least try and stand up for me?! I thought you loved me? How can you just let him say things to me that you know would bother me!?"

In a sarcastic tone Sean replied, "I thought you wanted to do everything yourself."

She stared at him dumbfounded, "How can you not care so much? I guess I was wrong, you don't love me..." she bit her lower lip, "...I feel so stupid, to fall for you, I..." she couldn't finish and ran out.

Sean, now realizing what she was feeling right before she walked out but it was too late, he wasn't able to say anything before she left.

"Fuck!" he yelled and slammed his paws down on the table.

Now he was scared, he was terrified he might have lost Emily forever.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" he further yelled, his tail making agitated sways behind him, "Dumb fucker!"

Unfortunately for Sean, Emily stood outside the door and hearing this thought he was talking about her, not about his own stupidity. Under normal circumstances she would have known better but in her distressed state she took it all wrong and they were as far apart as a couple in love could be.