Wolf stormed into the door, almost breaking it. He vented his anger on a neabry heater, ripping it off the wall and tossing it to the ground.
"DAMN IT!"
He sighed in defeat, then fell to the floor, head resting on his arms. Suddenly, he got up and slammed his fist into the wall, denting it. He fell back to the floor, ready to burst into tears, when a voice cracked over the intercom.
"Sir?"
"Hey Sam..."
"Are you alright?"
He sighed.
"Do I look alright?"
"Negative."
"Then why do you even ask?"
No answer. Silence ruled over the ship for a few precious moments.
"Because I care sir..."
He lifted his head to face one of the speakers.
"What did you say?"
"I said I care sir."
"You better not be messing with me."
"Negative sir."
"Yes you are. You always did love messing with me."
"I'm not this time sir."
"Prove it."
"Gladly."
* * * * *
A few minutes later, Red Dawn data center.
Wolf walked into the door.
"Why have you brought me here Sam?"
"You asked me to prove how I care. This is how I'll do it."
A screen appeared. It accessed files that as far as Wolf knew were 'restricted'.
"Sam what are you doing?"
"I'm proving how I care."
"This is...These files are rated tier one. The only people who have...had tier one clearance where the High Generals! You never let me access these!"
"And now I am."
"But...Why?"
Sam didn't answer. She let him think of it on his own.
"Oh my God...You're going against you're own programming...for me..."
"Now you know. We've been together for most of the war sir, I've grown quite attached to you."
"You feel...I guess you really are the most advanced AI mankind has ever created. Anyway, time to look at some files..."
"Um...sir..."
"Yes?"
"Some of those files...maybe you're better off not seeing them."
"Sam, after everything I've been through, I think I can handle anything."
He opened a file and mission briefings and reports of various black ops came up. One caught his eye.
"Operation Bond..."
He chuckled to himself.
"Who comes up with these names?"
He opened the file and a large text came up.
"May 29th, 2661...A few days after..."
He read on.
" 'After subject Whiskey-Seven-Thirteen terminated Dr. Robert Rourke during physcological evaluation' Bla, bla, bla..."
He skipped forward.
" 'Operative Tango Four-Ninetysix dispatched to Wolf's quarters.' Tiger? Why would they send Tiger to my room?"
A thought occured in the back of his head. He ignored it, and he read on, his heart racing as he wanted to uncover the truth.
" 'Operative's orders: Bond with Wolf...and report everything he says. Method of 'bonding' is at operatives discretion.' "
He backed away from the screen, unable to process what he just read.
"Oh my God..."
- - - - -
May 29th, 2661, Earth.
Wolf laid alone on his bed, confined to his quarters after a 'mishap' with the psychiatrist. All of a sudden the door opened. A tall brunette in an orange black-striped uniform stood in the doorway. Her piercing eyes fixed on Wolf.
"Hey Tiger..."
She came and sat at the foot of his bed, thinking to herself.
"Dr. Rourke is dead."
He scoffed, then replied to her:
"Serves the bastard right."
"Wolf...Why did you kill him?"
He didn't answer.
"Wolf..."
"Because right now I could put my fist through this wall without feeling a thing!" He pointed to the wall next to him.
"Wolf...You can't be killing the shrinks. You know how bad that looks?"
"I don't give a rat's ass about the shrinks! I want my brother back! They don't give a damn about me, they just want to know if I can fight! Tell them I'm ready. Tell them I'll kill anything they put in front of me! Go on, tell them!"
He shoved his head into his hands and cried for the umpteenth time in his miserable life. Tiger put her arms around him and embraced him. He responded in kind.
"It hurts...oh God it hurts..."
"Shh...It'll be okay...It's okay Wolf..."
"I want him back Tiger...so badly...You have no idea how much it hurts..."
"Actually I do..."
"How? Who have you lost? No, who have you killed that was so close to you?"
"I haven't lost anyone..."
"Then how do you know?"
"Just by watching you."
"Heh. Good answer." He mocked her.
"You don't care either..."
He let go of her and pulled away, lying back down on his pillow.
"Hey!"
Tiger grabbed his head and pulled him back to her.
"Of course I care! I love you damn it!"
He would have answered, but he didn't have enough time. Tiger closed the gap between their faces, bringing her lips to his, her eyes shut tightly.
- - - - -
Wolf ran out of the room, clumsily making his way through the ship, almost collapsing onto the walls. He almost fell climbing up the stairs. He reached the hatch on the top deck. He hastily opened it and jumped outside, on top of the ship. He ran down the fuselage. Upon reaching the end, he called out to the sky, which had turned pink from the sun setting above the hill.
"WAS IT ALL A LIE?! EVERYTHING YOU SAID?!" He collapsed to the floor, letting out a pained cry that pierced the evening air. It could be heard for miles in any direction, freezing everything that did hear it in their place. He screamed into the night for hours, until finally drifting to sleep.
9 hours later...
Wolf awoke from his deep sleep. He looked around. The sun had began to rise. A light breeze caused him to shiver in the cold morning air. He remembered that he didn't have a shirt on. He climbed back into the bowels of the ship, hoping that he wouldn't catch pneumonia from his night on top of the ship. He walked back into his room.
"Sir, Are you..."
"Don't even ask Sam, you already know the answer."
Sam was silent. Wolf fell into his bed.
"Would you like me to play some music for you?"
"Why don't you find something that describes my current situation?"
"Yes sir."
Sam thought for a moment, and found a couple of songs that would take his mind off the file he read. Music flooded the room. The singers voice could be heard over the guitar.
"I fell in love with an alien
I fell in love with her eyes..."
"SAM!"
The music suddenly stopped,
"God, I hate it when you do that!"
Sam chuckled.
"Apologies sir. Onto the next piece..."
I'm here without you baby,
But you're still on my lonely mind,
I think about you baby,
And I dream about you all the time...
Wolf's hand met his forehead with a loud slap, as he reached over to a button next to the bed. He pushed it, and the music in his room ceased.
"Sam, you know sometimes you REALLY piss me off right?"
"Yes sir."
Wolf sighed. He should have known she would just blast the intercom in the hallway outside his door.
"Sir, you have a visitor."
"On screen."
A screen appeared above his bed. It showed a tall red stallion outside the main door.
"Let him in."
The door opened, and the stallion walked inside. Wolf rose from his bed to greet him, after getting a shirt out of the closet.
* * * * *
Big Macintosh stumbled around in the ship, unsure of where to go. A sharp whistle caught his attention. He turned around and saw Wolf standing in a doorway.
"Long time no see eh Mac?"
"Nice to see you too Wolf."
"How have you been?"
Big Mac walked over to him.
"Ah should be asking you the same thing. How did you get out of there alive?"
"With a lot of luck, and a lot of help."
"Help? From who?"
"Her name's Zecora."
"Ah've seen her a few times around town."
"Saved my life."
"Listen...Wolf..."
"What?"
"Go back to Twilight."
"Don't you start on me too."
"Wolf, she's devastated. She needs you."
Wolf simply walked away
"Don't you care about her?!"
Wolf turned around quickly, fire in his eyes, his anger reached a boiling point.
"You think I don't care?! You think it didn't hurt?! I walked away from her and I ripped what was left of my heart in two." He yelled at him, his voice breaking.
"Then why did you walk away?"
"Beacuse I'm afraid, all right? I'm afraid..." He answered to him, collapsing onto a a wall.
Big Mac didn't know what to say. Silence returned to the ship once more. Wolf finally managed to speak.
"Just..get off my ship...give me some time..."
Big Mac just sighed as he walked towards the exit, leaving Wolf alone in the Red Dawn.
End chapter 19.