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Darkness still enveloped the bedroom when I awoke, early the next morning. I was pleased to find Sadie still in my arms, peacefully asleep. One of her arms, I could feel, was draped around my back, and one of my arms was partially crushed underneath her, so I carefully extracted it, trying not to wake her.

"Mmmph." She groaned, semi-conscious. Her arm put pressure on my back, trying to move me closer, and the blunt claws that tipped her fingers dug into my back uncomfortably.

I lay my head back down on the pillow, but I was wide awake, and I couldn't return to sleep even after laying there for what felt like an hour. Sadie seemed to wake up a little bit later.

"You awake?" She asked sleepily.

"Yeah."

"Ugh... What time is it?" Without waiting for me to answer (which was just as well, as I had no idea) she took her arm off my chest, rolled to the other side of the bed and checked the clock that I could vaguely remember was on a bedside table. There was a click as she pressed the light button, and a dim green glow partially silhouetted her in the blackness.

"It's five..." She rolled back to me. "What time did I get to sleep?"

"'Round nine, I'd guess." I answered. I've never had that great of a sense of time.

"What's that, nine hours of sleep? No..."

My stomach growled loudly, and I realized I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the previous day.

"We didn't have any dinner last night." I noted.

"Nope." Sadie chuckled.

"Should we go out and get breakfast or something?" I asked quietly, rolling to lay on my back.

Sadie smirked. "With you? We'd draw more attention than a blue bloodhound. No offense."

"We? I could go alone."

"No, you're not going anywhere right now." Sadie said, wrapping her soft arms around me again. She then gave me a playful nip on the shoulder, accompanied by a possessive canine growl. "You're my human."

"I'm still hungry." My stomach growled again. "I'd bet you are too."

"Well, maybe you want some..." She grabbed my hand suddenly and dragged it down to a moist spot between her legs "...Meat?"

"Didn't get enough of that the other night?" I said, and ran a finger over her wet lips

"Maybe I just wanna have some fun." She crooned.

"You can't have fun on an empty stomach." I joked, and stopped the motion of my finger.

She snorted "You're still thinking about food?"

"Well..."

"Oh fine, we can get something to eat." She muttered after letting out an exaggerated sigh. The covers were thrown back and she got up, not bothering to put any clothes on, and I followed a few seconds later.

In the kitchen, the only light came from the pilot light on the stove and the last remnants of starlight, shining in through the window. After some scuffling noises, Sadie produced a match and lit it, lighting up the room a bit more. A few of the candles were soon lit, making enough light for us to search the kitchen and find a package of bacon.

"A-ha" Sadie said, holding one of the strips up for me to see.

"Ah, who doesn't love bacon?" I wondered, as I sat down on the lone kitchen chair.

"Rabbits maybe, I dunno." Sadie said, trying to turn the stove on.

Only a minute later, there came the sizzling sounds and wonderful smell of bacon cooking. That wasn't the only thing I was enjoying, though. Sadie was still gloriously naked, and I couldn't help but admire her lithe hourglass figure and perky breasts. Then again, I was naked as well, and when I found myself with a very egregious erection, the only thing I could do to hide it was to scoot in so it would be mostly under the overhanging counter.

Sadie had cooked what looked like a dozen pieces of bacon, and put them all on a plate.

"Hey, you took my seat." She said, as she came to the counter and set the plate down.

"Uh... there was nowhere else to sit." I said awkwardly.

"But I want to sit down too." She said. "I guess we'll have to share it then. Scoot out a bit."

I sighed, and reluctantly brought myself and the chair backwards, away from the counter. Sadie noticed my raging hard-on immediately.

"Oh!" She giggled, holding a hand up to her mouth. "I see then." I was surprised when, still giggling and grinning, she stepped in front of me and gingerly sat down on my lap anyways. I felt furless lips kiss part of my cock. Her bushy tail also wrapped itself around my torso, tickling my back.

I couldn't suppress laughter. "Do you normally do this whenever you run out of chairs?"

She craned her neck and looked back to me coyly.

"Only if I like my guests, a lot." She crooned.

The plate of bacon, ignored for a minute, had cooled by then, and Sadie took a strip and ate it loudly. I leaned forward a bit and took one as well, wolfing it down hungrily. It only took a few short minutes for us to clear the plate.

"Ahh..." She sighed "That was lovely."

I began to say I how I wholeheartedly agreed, when Sadie moved herself slightly, as if to get comfortable, laying her head back on my shoulder, and moving her rump backwards. The motion of her moist lips on my still-erect member caused me to shoot a noticeable amount of precum into the fur of her thigh. I grunted uncomfortably, and Sadie got up off of me. She stood for a moment and sniffed the air, noticing something foreign. Following her nose downwards, she twisted her leg outwards and examined the inside of her leg, quickly noticing the wet spot.

I snickered, and turned my head away when her gaze shifted to me "Well, uh..."

"You're such a naughty, dirty boy..." She huffed, feigning disgust. "You've gotten me all dirty as well, you're going to wash it off at once!"

She got up, and grabbed me by the arm like a mother would grab a disobedient child. I let her lead me, still snickering, to the bathroom, and into the tiny shower.

After she'd closed the door and turned on the water (which thankfully got warm enough this time) she handed me a bottle of shampoo-like liquid, and extended the leg I had soiled. I worked up a lather and bent down to scrub her thigh obediently.

"All clean now?" I asked after she'd turned and rinsed the spot. There was a pause, and she broke out into raucous laughter.

"I needed a shower anyways." She said. "Want to help me wash up?"

"My pleasure."

I got more of the shampoo and rubbed it into the fur of her back, and I took my time as I knelt down to get it into her rump and legs. She turned around, and I repeated the process on her front side, going slow as I soaped up her breasts. I stopped to cup them in my hands, and traced circles around her nipples with my thumbs.

Sadie purred in pleasure; a thick, pleasing noise, especially when it was mixed with the ambiance of the running water. Our eyes met, and hers expressed a sultry, needy look. The run to the shower and the running water had seemed to wear down my erection, but right then, it came back in full force.

Sadie soon noticed, and a grin appeared on her face. "So, now do you want to have some fun?"

"Why not?"

She stood on the tips of her toes, and I bent my neck down so that we could kiss. My hand snaked its way down her flank, and by the time our tongues had gotten mixed up, I was fingering the warm, inviting folds of her nether regions. Sadie seemed to have the same idea, as I felt a small hand grab my manhood.

I started to pump one of my fingers in and out of her, and simultaneously she started to stroke my cock. Her head pulled back from mine and she moaned softly, the sound mostly masked by the water. The stroking suddenly stopped, she grabbed my length firmly, and tried to insert it between her legs, as if overcome by a sudden (and very direct) desire. It didn't happen though, because our height difference put my crotch closer to her belly.

"Need a boost?" I whispered in her ear. I took her moan as a response, and grabbed her by her thighs, lifting her up. Sadie put one of her arms around me to hold on, and guided my bulging member into the folds of her pussy with her other. Her tail and both her legs then wrapped themselves tightly around me as well.

The warm, tight embrace of her insides made me groan in pleasure. It also brought back semi-awkward memories from the other night, but that didn't stop me from pushing her back against the wall of the shower and starting to thrust, back and forth, each time trying to shove it further in, trying to scratch the itch I felt. Her arms were pressing us close together, and there again came the feeling of her claws digging into my back, but I hardly noticed, as the only thing I was feeling was an immense, rising pleasure as I drove myself in to the hilt, again and again.

"Oh, yes..." Sadie crooned, barely audible over the shower.

Pleasure rippled through my nerves, making me twitch as I climbed toward its climax, and something inside me told me to slow down and savor it, but another, more primal thing kept me going as fast as I could. I knew what was about to happen.

I tensed every muscle in my body, but I couldn't hold it in for very long, and I soon gasped sharply as I felt myself explode, pulse after pulse of my seed pumping into her. I only slowed down for a moment though, as my senses came back to me, and I heard that Sadie was still moaning louder and louder. Don't call me a gentlemen, but I wanted her to get the best of it. It was the least I could do for her, given all she'd done for me. Only when I felt her insides tighten around me, heard her moans subside, and felt warm liquid that wasn't from the shower head dripping down our thighs did I stop.

I let her slip off of me, and we stood there under the running water for a minute, both tired and panting, but enjoying the afterglow. Sadie's tongue lolled out cutely as she rinsed herself off a bit.

"S'pose now we're even dirtier than we were when we started, aren't we?" I joked.

Sadie looked back up at me silently, stood on the tips of her toes, and leaned in closer. She closed her eyes and kissed me again. I was only too happy to return the gesture.

In that moment, there was a pain in my back from her claws, there was an aching in my arms from holding her up for so long, and her wet fur pressed against me wasn't the most pleasant thing ever, but I felt as if I'd found a little piece of heaven in that shower.

That was, until I was shocked out of it by Sadie giving a high pitched yelp. She parted from me and darted out of the stream of water. It then hit me, and I was quite startled to find that it was suddenly cold.

We shut off the shower quickly, got out, and tried to dry off as fast as possible. The bathroom was flooded with steam, and I performed a near-repeat of the previous night; helping Sadie dry off her back (and other hard-to-reach places) as well as getting myself dry.

Then, she gave me a hairbrush and I helped her brush out her lovely auburn coat. Her back and big fluffy tail required a lot of attention, and it took a little while.

Suddenly, I felt a pressure growing in my bladder. My arousal had earlier kept it under check, but now I felt nature calling.

"Do you mind?" I asked Sadie, jerking my head in the direction of the toilet.

"Go ahead" She said with a grin "I'm not done in here though."

It was odd; I'd been naked with her for the pretty much the past 12 hours, but now I felt a slight awkwardness at relieving myself in front of her. I brushed it away though, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, and there wasn't any other restroom.

As I emptied my bladder into the toilet, I looked over and saw Sadie standing in front of the mirror. She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a medicine bottle.

"Are those your pills?" I asked as I finished up.

She sighed "Yes..."

I wondered then why I hadn't confronted her about her addiction when she'd first told me about it last night. I suppose I just had felt a greater need to comfort her in that moment.

I made my way slowly over to her. "I don't think you're going to need them anymore" I whispered as I took the bottle from her gently. She stood dumbfounded for a second.

"Wait, no!" She cried out, snapping out of it. "You can't- no I, I... I could have a withdrawl!"

"You won't." I reassured her. Looking back, I actually didn't know whether she could or not; it wasn't the best decision. "How many do you take?"

"One or two a day, just... please! Give those back!" She said frantically.

"I'll let you have one tonight, we can wean you off of them." I reasoned.

"No, just-" She tried to grab the bottle, but I tucked it firmly in the crook of my arm. "I need 'em!"

In my mind, I kept comparing her to myself a few years prior, the state I was in around the time I crushed somebody with a 10,000 ton ore hauler. I desperately wanted to help her, but I felt as if she wouldn't let me try, and I soon had had enough.

"God-damnit, do you want to go through your life as an addict?" I shouted at her. Her ears drooped and she recoiled. "I used to be an alcoholic! The last time I got wasted I killed somebody, and that's how I ended up here!"

Instantly, I knew I was wrong to yell at her. "I'm sorry" I whispered, staring down at the floor in regret. "I-I... I only want to help you. I'm sorry."

Sadie was quiet for a moment, but then she looked back up at me with a soft smile. "Well, I am glad you ended up here."

I embraced her, and she returned it "I guess I'm glad to be here, too." I said softly.

"I just cooked you bacon for breakfast and let you fuck me in the shower, and you guess you're glad to be here?" She sassed, leaning back to look me in the eyes.

Her sudden wit made me laugh "All right, I'm certainly glad to be here with you." I conceded "But you need to get off those pills, or else I'm never going to live with myself."

"I know, I should." She said. "I've tried before, but... I just never could do it. I always went back."

"You'll do it though, at least try?" I asked.

She nodded, and smiled.

***

Though he had only known him for a matter of hours, Jas already had a mild dislike for Russel Lowe, the big half-Husky that Bonnot had insisted accompany him, Garth, and Darren on their mission. Whenever Lowe had talked to him, Jas had noticed he had terrible breath, like rotten eggs.

"Worse than a damn skunk." Jas thought aloud, thinking back to the first time he had spoken.

"Whad'ja say?" Russel yelled from the driver's seat, the foul odor drifting over along with the words. They were at that point speeding on the highway in Garth's truck, and Russel had the driver's window open. Russel was driving because they were nearing the boundary between the "Altama Occupied Territory" and the actual states of the Balfor Confederacy.

They intended to get in by acting like Russel was an actual citizen, who had gone to the plateau to hire a few day laborers. This was a common enough practice, and it wasn't unknown for the soldiers who ran the checkpoints to turn a blind eye to anything questionable, for a small fee, of course.

To reinforce this alibi, Bonnot had given Russel a clean shirt, and he had ordered him to tuck it into his jeans. A leather belt with a silver-plated buckle held these up, and a moderately expensive wristwatch made complete Lowe's disguise as a respectable contractor or entrepreneur. His two Coyote laborers were dressed in simple clothes, and had tools and work gloves hooked to their belts.

"I said, if we're supposed to be workmen, maybe we ought to be ridin' in back!" Jas lied, leaning toward Russel to say this.

Russel bit his lip and nodded, while continuing to stare ahead at the road. "Yeah, that'd look better!" He eventually yelled back, causing Jas to hold his breath. "Ya'll can get back there when we stop to let Darren off!"

Darren was lying in the bed of the truck, concealed under a tarp. He hadn't gotten much decent sleep in the past few days, between getting knocked unconscious, picking a fight with Lars in the middle of the night, and now having to get up before dawn in order to go on yet another mission. He'd tried in vain to catch a wink or two of sleep as they'd driven through the early morning, but the noise of the road was too loud, and there was too many bumps.

To Lars' annoyance, Darren had that morning repainted his face. His white-striped face now appeared solid black, his rationale being that he could pass for a Canine at first glance, should it be necessary.

"That there looks like the drop point!" Garth hollered a few minutes later, pointing ahead to what looked like a gas station, around a half mile away.

Russel nodded, and looked in his mirrors, then looked to where the road curved out of sight a few miles ahead - they were the only ones on the road. Lowe turned off the highway, and pulled into the station. There was a lean but well-muscled Doberman leaning against one of the gas pumps, as if he was waiting for a ride. He was wearing a greasy undershirt, dark rayban-style sunglasses, and a pair of well-worn jeans. Except for the sunglasses, he looked as if he had just rolled out from underneath a car.

Lowe stopped the truck a decent distance from him, and got out. He left Garth and Jas in the truck, a bit confused.

The two Coyotes saw the Dobie exchange a few words with Lowe, and then they embraced each other as if they were old friends.

"Come on out ya'll!" Lowe yelled back to the truck. Jas and Garth got out promptly and made their way over. Darren raised his head up, then hopped out of the truck.

Lowe introduced the Doberman "This here's Slim Jim Osbourne, I used to run with him in the AIC."

"Howdy." Garth said, shaking paws with this new acquaintance. Jas did the same, and Osbourne then turned his attention to Darren.

"You look like a tough piece of work." Jim said, sizing Darren up.

"Depends on what you consider tough, I suppose." Darren replied sourly, which him come off as hostile to Osbourne.

"Hey now,"Jim smirked "I just want to know a bit about the guy I'll be hangin' with for the next few days."

"Hadn't we better radio back to camp, tell 'em we've let Darry off, and that we're near the border?" Jas asked.

"By the book, eh?" Jim said. "I've got a radio in back, I'll call it in." He jerked his thumb towards the main building of the gas station, then pointed to Darren. "You, grab your stuff 'n come with me."

Darren went back to the truck and fetched his duffel bag from the bed. One of the things inside was a folded, crumpled paper that Bonnot had given to him.

Darren pulled this out, and gave it to Jas. "This's got all the info on the guy you'll be meetin'." Bonnot had specifically instructed him to give it to Jas only once they were near the border, for some reason Darren couldn't fathom.

"I was just starting to wonder about that." Jas said with a slight smile "I guess I'll be seeing you Darry. Good luck."

"You'll need it more than I will. Take care of your uncle." Darren said, giving a two finger salute as he walked to follow Jim. Jas and Garth hopped into the back of the truck, and waited. Lowe had meanwhile run after the Darren and the Doberman.

Jim showed Darren past the front room, which looked like a mostly empty, ransacked version of the store you would find in any other gas station, and into a place in the back of the building which had a battered wooden wardrobe, and a mattress on the floor. When Osbourne opened up the wardrobe, a sizable array of radio equipment was revealed. He pulled up a chair and sat down in front of it, flicking switches to turn it on. Studying a wrinkled piece of paper he had picked up off the floor, Jim began to turn dials to get the proper frequency, and glancing at the paper one last time, grabbed the microphone stand. Lowe had meanwhile come into the room quietly.

"This is red lightning, alpha romeo five niner, calling all stations, over." The Doberman said tentatively, after pushing the talk button on the microphone.

He took his finger off the button, and there was a minute or so of tense silence, before a reply came in.

"Red lightning, this is black ghost. Lima zulu one seven. Send message please, over."

Jim glanced at his paper again, then nodded, satisfied he'd gotten the right person. He sent along his message; "Problem child has arrived at school, and the parents are off to the disco. Out."

"Understood, Black ghost out" The radio replied a few seconds later.

Darren smirked "'Problem child', huh? So that's what you're supposed to call me over the radio?"

The anarchists shared with the other rebel groups an extensive radio network, and as you might imagine, the Balfor Army listened intently, hoping to glean some information on rebel plans. To prevent this, Rebel groups used predetermined code words for nearly everything, reducing logical phrases to gibberish. The codes were changed every week, to confuse would-be eavesdroppers. Some groups had their own ciphers and codes, and others utilized state-of-the-art encryption technology, which was often better than what the Army had access to.

"Yeah, the codes will be different every time, though." Jim said. "But you don't look like a child, and hopefully you won't give me too much trouble either."

Darren and Lowe both smirked.

Jim got up and walked to the other side of the radio room, to a door. He opened it and stepped aside, allowing his companions to look into an even smaller room, where another mattress took up most of the floor space. "I fixed up this room for you. It ain't much, but make yourself at home, by all means."

Darren studied his lodging. The room looked like little more than a large closet, but he wasn't claustrophobic. He wasn't afraid of the dark either, which was fortunate, because the room had no windows, and only a naked light bulb to dispel the darkness. He set down his bag, and took out the suitcase-sized box that contained all the components of his takedown sniper rifle. Meanwhile, his two canine companions had slipped away.

Noting a dirt stain on the barrel of the weapon, Darren tried to remember the last time he'd cleaned the thing, and resolved to grease and clean it thoroughly, once he'd gotten a bit of rest. Noticing the quiet absence of Lowe and Osbourne, Darren looked back into the radio room, seeing it unoccupied.

Even though he hadn't even known him for a day and didn't have too much reason to befriend him, Darren thought he should see Lowe off, because there was the small but distinct possibility they might never meet again. When he went back into the radio room, he found it empty, with the door to the front of the station ajar. For some reason he couldn't remember afterwards, he decided to peer through the crack quietly before going through.

With his one eye peering through, he saw Russel and Jim, their muzzles pressed together, kissing. Jim leaned against the counter, the bigger husky pressing down against him. Darren spotted Jim's hand reaching for Russel's crotch, where a big tent had risen in his jeans.

Darren backed away from the door, frightened. He flattened himself against the wall next to the door, as if expecting them to come through and confront him. The Badger had a very limited understanding of Homosexuals (and indeed, of most sexuality), and the idea of staying for a week or more with a gay canine set him on edge. When he stepped away from the wall a few seconds later, Darren's foot came down on a creaky board in the floor, and the noise made him jump. Immediately afterwards, there was a clamor from the front of the station that could only be Russel and Jim abruptly their moment of passion. Sucking in his breath, Darren walked into the front of the station apprehensively, and found the two canines in front of the counter, trying to act as if nothing had happened. But to Darren, they were abnormally quiet, their expressions awkward and blank.

"Well, good luck, Russel." Darren said.

"Yep." The Husky looked disappointed, but started to make his way towards the door "Guess I'd better get going."

"Adios!" Osbourne said.

Russel went out the door, then turned and waved back when he reached the truck. Jas and Garth had gotten into the bed of the truck meanwhile, and waved from there. Russel then hopped into the cab, and the truck sped away, Darren and Osbourne following it with their eyes until it was out of sight.

"And now, the wait." Osbourne said.

"Yep." Darren replied "I think I'll get some rest."

"Sure."

"Great, stuck here with a horny gay Doberman." Darren thought, back in his room. "I been through a lot this week, but this just might top it all." He glanced at the mattress he was to sleep on, and wondered whether Osbourne would try anything while he was asleep. Darren imagined the Dobie sneaking up on him while he was asleep, and trying to sodomize him, and then waking up, grabbing his rifle from under the pillow, and shooting the pervert dead.

"No," He thought "Can't do that, I need him to work the radio." But, he decided it would be worth his while to keep the rifle handy anyways.

***

Shortly after our talk, Sadie had realized that she needed to hurry if she didn't want to be late for her classes, so she'd gotten dressed, grabbed all of her things, and sped out the door. I got dressed, and was again left to fight off boredom, though for the first hour or so an excited, satisfied feeling coursed through me, a result of my persuading Sadie to give up her pills, and my sexual exploits.

I found a newspaper and managed to spend an hour or two finishing the crossword puzzle in it. I then got some paper, and did some more doodling, though nothing of much importance made its way onto the paper this time. With that done, I went back to the newspaper, and read through the actual articles. In a section that was covering the election, I was disturbed to find a chart showing poll results; in first place was the Patriots party, and second was the Confederate Front - the Canine supremacists. It only then dawned on me that I might be in serious danger; the way my crew had talked about the "fronters" made me assume their antics would stop once the election was over with, no doubt with them seeing little support. But the paper told me that 30% of the population would support the Confederate front, compared to the Patriots' 37%.

That real sense of danger came to me slowly as I sat there thinking; There was no way I could get out of the Confederacy. On two edges of the country were vast ocean, then there was a 12-foot tall fence running 700 miles along the stringently controlled border to the mixed nation of Aurederta. Finally, there was the way into the Karlov republic, the homeland I was barred from entering.

My hand went limp and the paper slid out of it as another thing surfaced in my mind; Sadie. Surely these Canine supremacists would have some punishment in mind for a Vixen who'd associated with a Human, as well as for the Human himself? She was out there now, I knew, probably with my scent all over her.

I looked at my watch; it was already four. If her classes went to one o'clock, shouldn't she be back? No, I thought She must've had to be at the hospital. I stood up and began pacing about the small dorm room, as these thoughts simmered in my head. After I'd tired myself out doing that for a seemingly interminable time, I rested on the couch. A short time later, I heard keys in the door; Sadie was home. I got up and hurried towards the entryway.

The door opened, and a she stood before me. She was dressed in the same bluish scrubs, now stained black in spots, reminding me of a greasy mechanic's rag. Her mouth hung open a tiny bit, and the lower jaw quivered as if she was trying to say something. The mouth closed as she sniffed her nose, and I saw that her eyes were watery. Before either of us could say anything, Sadie fell forward, and I caught her in my arms. I was curious as to what exactly it was that had obviously gone wrong during the day, but I was silent, all my energy and anxiety drained at the sight of her.

I let her shoulders rest against one of my arms, and I bent at the knees to grab pick up her legs with the other arm. I carried her to the couch, and sat down, placing her next to me gently. I put an arm around her, and held her close. Her head fell onto my chest limply, tiredly. Soon, I heard her sobbing, and moist tears soaked onto my breast. I waited.

"What's happened?" I whispered into her ear, after a minute.

Her sobbing ebbed, but it was a few more seconds before she finally said something; "Mo-well... I can-I don't know."

I was a bit confused and annoyed at this fractured answer, but not more than I was concerned. "They smelled my scent on you, didn't they?" I guessed.

"Y-yes, that happened," She moaned, turning her head to look back at me "How did you know?"

"I didn't. I just started thinking about those kinds of things, and when you walked out the door, I could almost smell it myself." I sucked in my breath after the awkward reply. "What happened exactly?"

Her breath came out in a staccato burst before she made an effort to speak. "I-I-I...I-it was... it was l-like-" It was obvious to me that it was hard for her to talk about it.

"You don't need to talk about if you don't want to, sorry." I said. "It's all right"

"No! It's n-not all r-right! Y-you... you're going... to have to go away!" She cried, her sobbing beginning anew.

"What?" I asked, images of fronters with torches and pitchforks racing up the stairs to the dorm coming to my mind. "Is it the confederate front?"

"No, the army!" She croaked.

"What do you mean?" I had gripped her by the shoulders now, and I nearly started to shake her, in my alarmed state.

"There's something happening!" She cried, her breath coming in fits. "Everybody at the base was talking about it, you and your division have to go back!"

"What for? Who said that?" I asked incredulously.

"I don't know, and every officer I saw at the base was telling everyone that there was an emergency, and that if we knew a soldier on leave, we had to tell them. Some people were saying there could be another big war starting." Sadie brought her legs onto the couch, and pulled them close to her chest, then sunk her head into her knees, balling herself up.

For me, the possibility that came to mind was that of Balfor going to war with the Karlov republic. I knew the two nations weren't on the best of terms, and the implications that such a war would have for me were numerous, and scary to think about. I ran my left hand through my hair, and sighed. It wouldn't do to wait here, I needed to find out what was going on.

"Well, sorry, it looks like I need to leave, ASAP." I said, then shrugged "Duty calls, as they say."

She lifted her head up from her knees, and looked at me with teary eyes. "Why?" She asked "What do you owe this country? You weren't born here, you don't need to do this!"

It was hard to explain why I stayed with the army. It had something to do with the rush that I got when Kent spoke through the intercom to me, just a hint of danger in his voice, telling me where he wanted me to maneuver the tank; the amazing feeling of relief when you feel a potentially lethal bazooka round break harmlessly against your armor; the feeling of being one with the machine as you handle the 57-ton leviathan at top speed, shifting, steering, braking and accelerating all at precisely the right moment; the dazed awe you're in when the gun's blast reverberates in your ears for the first time; and the feeling of belonging as you sit around a campfire or in the dark interior of the tank, joking and talking with your comrades, the conversation declining as you drift to sleep. That was the best one for me after being an exile: having a canine "pack" to feel at home in; Scott, Okie, and Kent, and all the other tank crews.

"My friends are out there," I said, after trying to find a way to put it simply "I can't leave them."

"But can you leave me?" Sadie probed, standing up in front of me and looking me in the eyes.

I laughed a bit, and hugged her "Don't worry about me, I'll be back, I promise." I backed away for a moment, looking down into her eyes again "With you to come back to, how could I not?"

"Can't you just stay for one more night?" She pleaded.

I considered the idea, but eventually decided against it. It would be cruel to have her wake up alone, I thought, among other reasons.

"I don't want any trouble for you, I mean to keep myself off of you so you don't smell Human to everyone again." I said, turning to get my uniform from my bag.

She made a low whine "But I've only just met you!"

Having lost all my qualms about being nude around her, I had already started to pull my clothes off and put on the pieces of my uniform. "It will just be a few months." I reassured her, as I pulled the pants on.

"It's not a vacation, you're going to war! This might be the last time I ever see you, for all I know!" She cried.

I couldn't help but smirk "If the rebs find a way to crack an Urbane tank's glacis, I'll be damned." But there was a hint of doubt breaking the confidence I tried to put in my voice, as I remembered the fates that befell Stokes and Ostin; killed while outside of their vehicles.

"I-I Just have a really bad feeling about you... leaving." She said.

I finished buttoning up the jacket of my uniform, and I stuffed all of my remaining possessions into the duffle bag. I had an impulse just then, as my eyes went back to Sadie, seeing the tears wetting the fur around her eyes. I strode over to her, and defied one of my reasons for not staying; I embraced her, and kissed her deeply.

"I will come back to you." I breathed as we separated. I backed away, closer to the door, though I still had my eyes on her.

"Wait!" She said, and rushed away to her bedroom. I obeyed.

Sadie came back less than a minute later, holding a photograph. She held it out to me, pressed it into my hands. I looked down at it; it was a picture of her dressed up, with her fur all clean and conditioned, obviously for some occasion. In it, she wore a pretty blue dress and a beautiful smile.

"Take this, to help you remember me." She said, and then answered a question that I hadn't voiced. "That was from my sister's wedding, last year."

"Thank you, you look beautiful in it." I said, smiling. "I'm sure I won't forget that you're that."

She embraced me one last time, and though I still heard her sniffling a bit, I think she was ready for me to go, but what she'd said about this potentially being the last time we saw each other was true. There was something I had to say:

"Sadie, before I leave, I have a confession to make; I lied to you."

"What?"

"My name's not Rick Walker, it's Ricardas Balenko. I was born and raised in the Karlov Republic, I was an heir to the B&M Mining company, I've been disavowed by my family, and I was exiled."