Chapter 29:
Engagements

	Terry had rested up fully and left with Mallory. He wouldn't be back 
until the next morning for some coffee and a little resting up. Samantha and 
Tobias returned to find an empty apartment and a thank you note. "So now 
that the place is empty," Samantha said. "What do we do?"
	"Well, I know what I want to do," Tobias said. He made his way into 
the kitchen (not the kitchen area. These quarters had an honest floor plan 
to them) and pulled some pots and pans. "I'm cooking some decent food. I've 
had it with rations."
	She giggled and sat down. "Oh yeah. I wonder if we'll be able to lure 
Kaitlyn in." Tobias put a pan on the stove and turned it on. Moments later, 
Kaitlyn came barging in, a satchel on her back. "Oh, you're too good 
Tobias."
	Kaitlyn smiled. "Sven wanted me to make a delivery to Tobias for him, 
so I was going to show up anyway," she informed them. "But when I heard the 
stove, I had more of an incentive." She walked over to Tobias and gave him a 
peck on the cheek. "We missed you, Wolfie." She handed him a package. "From 
Sven."
	He smiled. "Thank you, Kaitlyn." He returned the kiss. "Go have a seat 
and I'll cook up the rest of the meal." She did so. He put the package down 
and continued cooking.

	The meal was finished up quickly. Tobias took up the plates and put 
them away before settling back down to lounge. A conversation was stirred up 
in the hopes to restore some nostalgic feelings from when the trio first met 
some months ago. It eventually ended up being about just that.
	"It feels like we've grown five years since we first met," Tobias 
remarked. "I remember the first time I met you Kaitlyn."
	She chuckled. "Yeah. You tried to get me to speak while I prepared 
everything for your exam. I thought you weren't friendly!"
	"That was solved pretty quickly." He sighed. "I'm surprised how much 
we've all changed."
	"Yeah," Samantha said. "I used to be a carefree child, remember?"
	"Yep," Kaitlyn said. "You've grown into a lovely young woman since you 
two discovered you had feelings for each other."
	"I know," Tobias added. "She's changed as much as I have."
	Kaitlyn nodded. "Those were the days, eh?" They gave a collective sigh 
and remained silent for a few minutes.
	"To turn the hands of time back," Samantha wondered aloud. "To turn 
the hands back to when we were at the old base, in the science quarters. To 
live a carefree life again, instead of having to worry about Isthus 
breathing down our backs."
	"I would kill to do that," Tobias conceded. "To live that first week 
with you guys forever." He sighed and rested his head on the back of the 
couch. "You know, when I first met you, I had a crush on you, Kaitlyn."
	She looked at him and blushed. "You...you did?"
	"Yeah. I did." He smiled. "But then Samantha came in and stole my 
heart."
	"I see."
	He laughed. "But I have to admit, that crush is still there."
	Samantha smiled. "Your heart is in the right place."
	"Yeah." He looked at the package Kaitlyn had given him. "It always 
will be."
	"What's in the package?" He opened it and found two boxes. He opened 
one up and looked in side. "Well?"
	"This one is for later." He put it in his pocket. "So that must 
mean..." He opened it and smiled. "Aha."
	Kailtyn peered over and saw a little gold ring with a sapphire set 
into it. Her eyes widened. "Tobias, you're not gonna..."
	"I'm not."
	"What are you talking about?" Samantha asked. He smiled and showed her 
the ring. She turned red. "T-tobias?"
	"Samantha, this is my promise to you. I will always be yours, no 
matter what." He took the ring from it's box. "This ring shows the devotion 
and love that I have for you and will serve as a reminder to that promise. 
Will you wear my promise ring?"
	She looked at it for a second before smiling. "Of course I will, 
Tobias." He smiled, took her hand, and slid it onto one of her fingers. 
"Thank you." She leaned in and gave him a kiss. "I'll keep this ring close 
to me always."
	Just then the wall opened up, revealing a screen. It promptly lit up 
with Sven's face. "Hey guys. How's it going?"
	Tobias smiled. "And here's something else I miss."
	Sven chuckled. "I know. It feels so great to be calling you guys up on 
the wall."
	"Well, it's great to be called. So, what are we dealing with this 
time? A couple of lightning tanks? Some aircraft that needs a wedgie?"
	"Nah, I was just checkin' in to see if you got your packages."
	"Oh, he got the packages," Samantha said, holding a hand up to show 
off her ring.
	Sven chuckled. "That's your promise ring, right?"
	"Yeah."
	"What about the other package, Tobias?"
	"I got it."
	"Is it to your liking?"
	"It's better than what I was expecting. Thank you for the favor Sven."
	"Anytime. I feel like it was owed to you for finally shedding some 
light on this war." He sighed. "I just wonder what's going to happen when 
this is all over."
	"I know. But..." He started to lower his gaze.
	"What is it?"
	"While I was making my way back from Raider territory, I got this odd 
feeling that, even after we defeat Isthus here, it won't be over for a long 
while. I get the feeling...we might be only beginning the fight."
	Sven laughed. "Not according to what I heard. I get the feeling that, 
when you defeat Isthus, you're going to slice his gonads into a million thin 
slices before killing him. Am I right?"
	"Oh hell yeah. After what he did to Samantha, he deserves every ounce 
of pain I can give him."
	"Tobias, you ARE going to win this war for us. You ARE going to defeat 
Isthus on this planet. And you ARE going to prove the prophesy to be true."

	A tear came to Tobias' eye. He slowly stood up - 6'2" of lightly built 
human, shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes, glasses that sat on the 
middle of his nose, a slight goatee well established, and a smile - and 
saluted like any proud soldier would. "Yes sir," he said. It was a defining 
moment for him. He had his purpose in life. It was his Nirvana. 
	Sven chuckled and saluted back. "You do the Pack proud, friend."
	"I do it for my people. I will not disappoint you."
	"Thank you, hero." The screen clicked off. He slowly lowered his hand 
and grinned.
	"Hero?"
	"Yeah," Samantha said, standing up as well. "You are a hero."
	Kaitlyn laughed. "Hero? You're a god. Have you guys seen the last few 
newspapers we missed?"
	"No," Tobias said, turning to her. "What was in them?" She pulled a 
paper from her satchel and unfolded it. In big, bold letter, the headline 
proclaimed one thing:

"Lone Wolf Taken Prisoner"

	He chuckled. "Am I that cared for?"
	"Apparently. Other headlines include 'Still no Word From Lone Wolf', 
'The Solitary One Feared Dead', and 'Major Problems at Raider Base'. That 
one's my favorite."
	"Well, don't keep us in the dark," Samantha said. "Fetch it up and 
read it!"
	"Okay! Okay!" She fumbled through the satchel and found the 
appropriate newspaper. "Here it is. 'Major Problems at Raider Base.' Recent 
satellite images have revealed the Raider base Xeon, deep in Sector Red 2, 
has recently been assaulted heavily. Xeon is a well known prison camp, 
mainly for it's swift execution and torture of prisoners. However, top 
military minds know that this base is heavily outfitted. It is unlikely that 
any of the rebel bands that dot the Raider landscapes are capable of 
besieging this base, even when en massed. Sources say that it is believed 
once thought fallen hero Lone Wolf is the cause of this."
	Tobias laughed. "Oh, if Isthus could see that report, he's shit 
himself!"
	Samantha smiled. "But it proves that you are our hero."
	"Yeah, I guess I am." He gave her a hug. "Am I a hero to you, love?"
	She smiled. "You're not a hero. You're my Tobias. That's all that 
matters."

****************************************************************************

	There was a knock at the Viper Sting barracks. "Somebody get that," D 
said. Xuon quickly got up from his seat on his bed and answered the door. 
"Who is it, Xuon?"
	"It's Crash," Xuon responded, his green scaled tail flicking uneasily.
	"What does he want?"
	"We want to know if you guys want to play poker?" Crash's voice 
responded. "You up for it D?"
	"Nah. Thanks for the offer."
	"All right." He was silence for a second. "D, quick question."
	"Shoot."
	"Is the rumor about you guys becoming the official LW Army true?" The 
entire barracks, which was humming with activity, silenced. "I guess that 
means you guys don't know either."
	"Who told you?" Mink asked.
	"I overheard Sven talking about it with one of his bosses. They want 
to instate you all as full members of the army, make you guys a legion of 
officers."
	"Really?" Myst said. "What kinds of titles are attached to this?"
	"Dunno. But I do know that you guys will have medals coming out of the 
wazoo for keeping us safe when Oasis went down. Why, I wouldn't be surprised 
if-"
	"Crash," D said. "Come in." The wolf did, shutting the door behind him. 
Without a word, he moved to where D sat and sat across from him. "When did 
you hear this?"
	"I'm here, aren't I? Sven's office is a five minute walk from here. So 
that'd make it five minutes ago."
	"Sven did mention something about it. I didn't think he would go 
through with it."
	"He isn't going though with it yet. It's still in the planning stages. 
However, the medals are a definite. You're going to become heroes amongst 
the Pack."
	"That's great!" Mink said.
	"That's fantastic!" Myst added.
	"That's unfair," D sighed.
	"What?" Crash asked. "Why?"
	"We'd be getting the glory for something we did. What about the other 
rebels out there? What do they get?" He stood up. "They get to worry about 
being found by a platoon of Raiders. They get anxiety about all their 
operations. And when our base at Bleu Mesa fell, I bet they panicked."
	"D, calm down," Mink said.
	"How can I calm down? Our brethren are out there fighting, and we're 
here doing nothing. We should be out there fighting Isthus! We should be 
fighting the Raiders!"
	"That's the other part of the news I heard," Crash butted in.
	D looked at him. "What other news?"
	"They're planning on giving Tobias one final proposition."
	"That being?"
	"They're going to ask him to lead a charge on the Raider capital, 
Skorara."

****************************************************************************

	Isthus' transport arrived at the Skorara capital building three days 
after the Xeon escape. Despite his usually strong will and temperament, he 
was a bit dejected. Not only had Lone Wolf freed the rebel band that was 
giving him hell, he had been defeated in hand to hand combat - again! He 
slunk his way to his quarters and, in a rare show of weakness, collapsed on 
his bed. "I'm not going to give up," he told himself. "I refuse to. I'm 
going to pluck Lone Wolf bald and then I'm going to kill him." He slammed 
his fist on the mattress. "Give me that one pleasure. I'll gladly surrender 
the entire Raider empire over if I can do just that."
	"They're not going to let you do that," an elderly voice told him. "If 
you want him dead, you have to do it yourself, son."
	He looked over at the elderly lion at his door. "Please, father, I am 
in no mood for your speeches. I ask you to leave me to my self-loathing."
	"Self-loathing will not win the war. You must get into that war room 
of yours and plan your next move. You must think with your head, not your 
fists and weapons. You must."
	"Your words are of little use to me, old man. Please go."
	"Fine. Your choice. I'm only trying to help." He turned and slowly 
made his way off.
	Isthus got up, went over to his vanity, and looked in the mirror. 
"Look at me. I'm on the verge of tears. I'm a man. Men don't cry." He 
chuckled. "Like when Lone Wolf cried over what I did to his concubine. He 
is no man. I've been going soft on him." He flexed his claws. "Next time we 
meet, Lone Wolf, I'm going to hold nothing back." He growled and raked his 
claws across the mirror, leaving four fine scratch marks.

****************************************************************************

	Night had arrived. For the first time since he got back, Tobias 
crawled out of the now extremely dirty jeans and shirt he was wearing into a 
clean pair of boxers and sweats before climbing into bed with his love. 
Samantha wore a cotton night gown, one similar to the one she had on the 
night they first shared a bed together. They share a smile before she slid 
over to him. "Today was so great," she said. "Can we do it again?"
	"Anytime that you want," he responded. "Anytime." They rested up 
against each other and shut their eyes. Five minutes later, Samantha nudged 
him. "What's up?"
	"I was just thinking about something."
	"What would that be?"
	She looked up into his eyes. "We know we're meant for each other. I 
was just thinking. What would happen if we had a kid?"
	He laughed. "What?"
	"I'm serious. I'm not saying that I want one. I just want to know what 
would happen if we had one. I mean, what would it look like?"
	He smiled. "Well, it'd have it's mother's eyes, her soft, loving smile, 
and of course her fur and tail."
	She smiled back. "And what would we call it?"
	"Well, if it were a girl, I'd say we call her...Roxy." She giggled. 
"And if it were a boy, we would call him...Kain."
	She sighed happily. "Kain. I like that name."
	He stroked her arm. "Then if we have a kid, and it's a boy, we'll call 
him Kain. Okay?"
	She rested her head on his chest. "Okay."

	Tobias was awoken the next morning by a soft ringing coming from the 
nightstand by the bed. He sat up and looked and found a phone. He blinked, 
this being the first time he saw one since he arrived, and picked it up. 
"'Lo?"
	"Tobias, it's Sven," the voice on the other end said.
	"Wouldn't it have been easier to just wall me?"
	"Yeah, but I didn't want to wake Samantha."
	"All right. What's up?"
	"We need to discuss something of major importance. How soon can you 
get down to my office?"
	"Eh...can it wait until noon?"
	"Yes it can."
	"Okay. I'll be there around noon-ish."
	"Good. See ya then." The line went dead. He hung up the phone and just 
sat there. Sven had sounded a little worried, scared even. Yet there was a 
tone of excitement in it. He knew he was going to find out at noon, so he 
dismissed it for the time being and looked at Samantha. She was on her belly, 
snuggling with the pillow. "It's almost nine," he whispered. "Time for you 
to get up." He spun around, kneeling on the bed, and started to rub her 
shoulders. That caused her to stir and moan a little. He smiled and 
continued, until she woke up and looked over at him. 
	"Good morning," she said.
	"Good morning," he replied. "How did you sleep?"
	"Fantastic." She stretched. "If you're going to do that for me, I'm 
going to have to take this night gown off."
	He smiled. "Do as you must. But be warned, doing so is an act of 
turning me on, and I may have to react appropriately."
	She smiled and slid a tin box from under the pillow over to him. "If 
you need to, use these."
	He laughed. "Okay. Go ahead."

****************************************************************************

	D, Mink, and the Elite guard had gathered in a meeting room around 
11:30. Sven called them there to discuss something important. Having 
somewhat of a clue to what it was, they remained silent until he arrived. 
They watched in silence as he sat down and started to speak. "I bet this is 
something you'll all want to hear," he started.
	"Perhaps," Mink said. "It depends on what you have in mind."
	"No, I'm sure you guys will want to hear this." He took a deep breath. 
"The Board back at our capital has approved our use of a large number of 
armies to pave a way for a small group to get into Skorara. To make matters 
even better, it is believed that Isthus himself is now there. The armies are 
on standby. We're just waiting for Tobias to give his nod to the idea."
	D smirked. "And if he approves?"
	"Then we want the Viper Sting and the Elite Guard to join Tobias on 
the raid. If he is the prophesy the texts speak of, then you guys will have 
no trouble getting in and removing Isthus and winning this war."
	"And if he disapproves?"
	"He won't. I'm sure of that too."
	Hack chuckled. "If it'll end the war, I'm all for it!" The Elite Guard 
murmured their agreement.
	D stood up. "The Viper Sting will gladly lend it's services to 
defeating Isthus." He looked to Mink. "If Tobias approves, I want every one 
of our men ready for war."
	Sven smiled. "Good. I thank you gentlemen."

	Tobias suddenly burst in. "Sorry I'm late," he said. He walked over to 
the table and sat down. "Now, Sven, you wanted to discuss something?"
	Sven nodded. "Tobias, do you know what Skorara is?"
	"I don't believe I do."
	"Skorara is the Raider Headquarters. All activity is coordinated 
through that area." Tobias nodded. "If it were to fall, the Raiders would be 
defeated."
	"So what's the plan?"
	He chuckled. "We have every unit we can spare distract a way to the 
city. Once we've done that, you, the Elite Guard, and the Viper's Sting 
sneak in and capture the city."
	"Sounds good. When can we do this?"
	"The armies are on standby now."
	He took a deep breath. "We'll leave two days from now. I gotta go take 
care of something first." He pulled a small box from his pocket.
	"Tobias," Crash said. "Is that the other ring?" 
	Tobias nodded.
	"Are you going to do it?" Sven asked?
	He nodded again.
	"I hope she accepts."
	"So do I. This is such short notice, barely a day since I gave her my 
promise ring." He took a deep breath. "How long will this operation last?"
	"Three to four days. One or two for our guys to clear the way, one to 
get there and take the city, and one to get back."
	"That's six days. I wonder...do you guys think we can pick china 
patterns out by then?"
	Sven laughed. "I'll put in the word with the boys at the capital. 
We'll make it a planet-wide event. The wedding of all time."
	He laughed. "I believe ya. I'll see you guys in a bit with what she 
said." He started to leave.
	"Oh, Tobias, one more bit of info." He turned and looked at Sven. "You 
might want to have your best clothes ready for that day. Isthus is going to 
be there."

****************************************************************************

	Kaitlyn and Swift had decided to visit Samantha that day. They were 
talking about the promise ring Tobias had given her the day before. Swift 
was just about drooling over it. "I wish I had someone who could give me 
such a nice ring," she commented. "You are the luckiest girl alive."
	"I am not!" Samantha said.
	"Yes you are. You have Tobias. And he cares deeply for you."
	"Yeah." She smiled. "I doubt we'll ever know how much he cares for me. 
I think it's impossible for him to show it."
	He came in the door seconds later.
	"Hey Tobias. How was the meeting?"
	"It went smoothly," he said, nerves playing on his voice. "We 
discussed something that's going to affect our lives."
	"Oh? What's that?"
	"We're making a push on Skorara and Isthus. It's in a little under 
four days."
	She held her breath. "You're going into battle?"
	"Unfortunately. But you know by now that I'll be fine."
	"I'm still going to worry."
	"While I'm gone, I'm going to need you to do something for me."
	"What's that?"
	"I'm going to need you to pick out a china pattern and a wedding 
dress." They were silent for a few seconds. "You got me?"
	"Tobias, what are you trying to say?"
	He got down on one knee and took her hand. Kaitlyn and Swift 
immediately gasped. "Samantha, you are the loveliest woman I've ever met. I 
want to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter what." He brought 
forth the box and opened it. In it was a platinum ring with a diamond set 
into it. "Samantha, when I get back from this last battle, will you marry 
me?"
	She looked at the ring, looked at him, and smiled. "Tobias..." She 
caressed his cheek, tears starting to form in her eyes. 

****************************************************************************

	Outside the Viper Sting barracks, D had called every one of his men 
and women to attention for an announcement. He watched as they all got into 
their rows and columns and waited for him to speak. As soon as he was 
satisfied, he began. "Vipers, as of 11:34 this day, I have gotten 
confirmation that the rumors about a final push against the Raiders are a 
fact. There will be a raid in three days against the chief city Skorara." 
There was a murmur amongst the ranks. "We will be joined by the Elite Guard 
and Lone Wolf. Every fighting man and woman will be brought on this mission. 
We are going for total victory here. We will take NO prisoners." He looked 
them over. "Since this is a large unit, we will let the Elite Guard and Lone 
Wolf deal with the capital building. We will concern ourselves with securing 
the entire city. Since Skorara is a small city, we will not have to spread 
our forces out too thin."
	"What about back up forces?" someone asked.
	"I've already thought of that. Messengers have been dispatched to our 
brother units out in Raider Territory. We will know if we will have backup 
soon." Suddenly, Crash rushed up. "What's up Crash?" He whispered something 
into his ear. A smile crept across his face. "Thank you Crash." With that, 
Crash grinned and took off. "I have some even better news."
	"What's that?" Terry asked from all the way in the back.
	"After this mission is over, we are to get our best dress clothes 
ready. We will be going to a wedding after we finish with Isthus."
	"Wh-what?!" Myst said.
	"It's quite simple, my friends. Tobias just proposed to Samantha. She 
said yes." A cheer went up from the unit. D smiled and turned his back. 
"You've earned it, my friend. Let your love for your girl drive your passion 
and help us defeat Isthus.