Chapter One

Fox crouched, muscles locked but ready to move, moving only his eyes. A spear rested at one of his sides, his ‘dog’ Lance at his other. Lance was still as well, eyes trained where Fox’s were.
The antelope grazed, unalarmed, unaware of the danger that crouched only a few yards away. The herd had spread out over a large lightly-wooded field, providing Fox with more then enough cover.
Lance glanced at him. Fox more then felt the ‘dog’s’ |< eagerness >| to leap out and attack, but Fox restrained him—the antelope wasn’t close enough yet. A few more feet…
|< hunger >|
‘Yeah I know.’ Fox slowly reached down, fingers wrapping around the spear. ‘Closer, closer, closer…NOW!’
Lance leapt out, snarling, making the antelope freeze for that one, crucial moment. Fox stood and threw, feeling his muscles flow and surge, and the spear shot through the air and hit home. The antelope fell forward, head snapping back, and Lance was on it in seconds.
The rest of the heard bolted, but Fox ignored them, walking over to the body that Lance sat by. “Good boy.”
|< happy >| Lance wagged his tail.
“You guys are a damn efficient team.” Scott landed next to him, helping clean the antelope and take it back to the complex.
“You always say that.” Fox smiled slightly.
“Because it’s correct.” Scott grinned back.
They teamed up to cart the cleaned antelope back, talking the entire time. Fox had learned to like living on Eden, enjoy his evolution, and it made life all that much better, even if this wasn’t truly his home.
Amber met them when they arrived back at the base. One of the newer additions to Eden, she was an eccentric college student continuing her education online. She was a hard worker with a green thumb, being an aspiring botanist of mostly feline descent.
“Good hunt eh?” She grinned at Fox.
“It always is with him.” Scott smiled.
“Not always.” Fox carted the antelope to the freezer, then came back out, having washed the blood off his hands and put on a clean muscle shirt.
“You’re always so serious.” Amber shook her head.
“With reason.” Fox sat down and ducked his head forward, letting his hair down form the clip and combing it out. Lance yawned and stretched out beside him.
“Leave him alone Amber. Come on, help me with the hydroponics.” Scott towed her away.
“You don’t need help.” She accused.
“Let’s just pretend I do then.”
“What’s with you?”
“He’s engaged, Amber.”
She sighed, nodded, and followed him to hydroponics.

Fox sighed, watching the two leave from behind a curtain of his hair. He knew Amber liked him—his senses were sharp enough to hear breathing changes and smell pheromones—but he made no move, no reaction. No, he cared only for Fara, even if they were light years apart.
He finished combing his hair and flipped it back. It fell across his shoulders and back in an intense red cascade. He had kept forgetting to cut it, then Fara said she had liked it, so he kept it. Hell, why not. He wasn’t under military rules anymore.
The sun had started its descent into the ocean. He watched it set, three irises expanding and contracting independently to improve his vision. He wished that Fara was there beside him, snuggled in his arms. He reached up and fingered his hair. It fell to his mid-back. He half closed his eyes, remembering Fara’s giggles as it tickled her nose and fell in a cloud around her face.
Well, damn, now he was just getting uncomfortable. He braided his hair back, tied it, and stood. Lance lifted his head, then stood and stretched as Fox did.
Fox set off at a good clip, jogging down to the beach then sprinting. Lance strode alongside him, splashing along the water’s edge.
|Fox?|
“Yes Eden?” He slowed back to a jog, then started stretching again.
|Do you still wish to return to your home?|
“Of course.”
|You have my permission.|
Fox grinned.

>Mama, I’m coming home.

Fara stared at the one line e-mail, knees shaking a bit. It was an old music quote, she knew. When Fox did solo missions, he had always sent her that before coming home, usually attached to flowers, candy, or the like.
“Mommy?” Her little girl, Lyssiah, peered up at her, holding her most recent fingerprinting from daycare. “Mommy? What’s th’matter?”
“You’re dad’s coming home.” She whispered, and her legs went, sitting roughly on the carpeted floor.
“Daddy’s comin’home?!” Lyssiah crowed, dropping the painting and wrapping her small arms around her mother.
Fara hugged her daughter back, feeling tears come. Fox was coming home. That thought was overwhelming until itself. Now they could finally marry, be together, be a family…she felt herself smile through her tears, wondering how he had told the others.

>Crack the knuckles and buckle in, your drill sergeant is back.

Falco laughed out loud, looking at the message. “Hey Katt!”
Katt came out of the bathroom, wearing a robe loosely tied, towel drying her hair. “What’s the emergency?”
“Look.” He gestured at the screen.
She read it and gaped. “But I thought…”
“Eden must be letting him go.” Falco gave her a bear hug, laughing. “God I miss that guy…”
“And now you have a best man for the wedding.”
Falco pouted. “I hate tuxedos.”
“Suffer, you asked and I said yes. Besides he probably expects the same from you.” She grabbed his collar and pulled him close. “So you get to be both a best man and a groom.”
“Aw man… oh well, guess I shouldn’t complain…” He rose an eyebrow, pulling the sash on her robe until it untied.
“No you shouldn’t.” She smiled a bit.

>Hey dude, your surf partner’s back.

Bill stared at the screen for a long moment, then whooped, leaping up and bouncing around the room. He hadn’t seen Fox in a while now, and now he was coming back.
“About time!” He said finally, sitting and typing a reply, fingers flying. “You better not disappear on us this time…” He grinned.

>Fly boy’s back. You got spare parts?

“My god! Dad!” Slippy shouted over his shoulder, pulling out the fax and reading the single line over and over again. Fox was an excellent pilot, but his planes still took damage, and after that arwing being on Eden for four years… Slippy felt himself tut-tut, then slapped himself. Who gave a damn about the plane?! “Fox is coming back!”
“No kidding?” Beltino pulled himself out from under a test plane, hurrying over. “About time he got around to it.”
“Yeah, agreed. God, it’s going to be great to have him back.” Slippy was grinning from ear to ear.
“In the mean time, back to work, eh?”
“Yes, sir!”

>The prodigal son returns.

Peppy slowly sat down, staring at the screen. Now almost fifty years old, a veteran pilot and trainer at the Academy, he had almost given up on Fox ever coming home. He supposed this proved him wrong.
He smiled, rubbing at the single tear that dripped from one eye. Fox had in many ways been his adopted son; after the death of Fox’s mother the entire team as well as Pepper had helped raise him. And now, after four long years, Fox was coming home.
He supposed it would be much more interesting from now on.