"Poor kid, I can’t even imagine what he must be going though right now." She took a glance at the tiger cub sleeping in the passenger seat. He had been physically and emotionally drained due to the recent events that he had gone though. The officer remembered the moment the cub fell to his knees crying as he revealed his parents’ cruel fate, but the only comfort she could provide was a shoulder to cry on.

They arrived at the station and she gave the tiger a gentle shake to wake him. Drake slowly swam to consciousness, his eyes wanting to reject the now brilliant glow of the morning sun. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he took in his surroundings. There was a large two story white building with a large emblem on the wall in front of him that matched the emblem on the side of the police vehicle he was in. Encircling the emblem were the words: Kagaowa Police Department.

"Ahh, so the sleeping tiger awakens," the officer said as Drake sat up in his seat. "How do you feel?"

Drake looked at her with tired eyes and nodded to show her that he was fine. He looked at her carefully as if he was coming to a decision and then spoke. "Thank you for putting up with me. I know I haven’t been easy to deal with."

"Hey, don’t worry about it; you’ve been though a lot." She watched as Drake looked out the front windshield, a distant look on his face. She felt guilty for bringing him to the station for more questioning and considered letting the young tiger cub rest to give the full report to the chief herself, but dismissed the idea with a reminder to herself of how the chief preferred to hear the story from the victims themselves. She bit her lower lip as she tried to decide on the best course of action until she remembered something and lightly slammed her open hand against her forehead. "How rude of me," she said in a more upbeat voice to break the mood. "Here I am bringing you to a police station, and I haven’t even introduced myself yet." She offered her hand to Drake. "My name is Officer Tamara Blake, police officer of the Kagaowa Police Department."

They entered the building and arrived at the secretary’s desk. Tamara looked at Drake and pointed to a set of chairs to their left. "Go ahead and wait over there while I get the necessary paperwork filled out." This only prolonged the inevitable, but she felt he needed the time to himself to gather his thoughts.

Drake nodded and headed towards the seats Tamara indicated. When he sat down he heard noises coming from the front of the building and looked toward the entrance where they had just came from. The doors swung open and two officers struggled to bring in a slightly smaller rat that was franticly trying to free himself of his captors. Drake watched as the officers continued to struggle with the captive when he saw a small, slender, metallic object in the rodent’s hand. Not knowing what it was, Drake watched curiously as the three proceeded past him.

As they passed the row of chairs, the rat shot a glance at the tiger cub, and Drake felt a chill run down his spine at the intense look in his eyes. Suddenly, the handcuffs that helped restrain the prisoner fell to the floor as the rodent withdrew his left elbow and thrust it into one of the unsuspecting officers. He then balled his fist and shoved it into the other officer’s side under the ribcage while his other hand retrieved the officer’s sidearm. Within an instant, Drake found himself hauled to his feet with his left arm twisted behind his back and gun pointed to his head.

Drake dropped to one knee breathing heavily as he looked at the motionless form in front of him. Suddenly the loud sounds of clapping, hooting and shouting filled the room as he looked up to see the large group of officers cheering him on. Tamara rushed to his side. "Are you ok?" she asked him.

Drake took another deep breath and looked at the Dalmatian with a smile and nodded. "Yeah, I think so," he said as he watched two officers come to collect their unconscious prisoner, giving their thanks and apologies the young white tiger.

"Come on," Tamara said as she helped Drake to his feet. "Let’s find somewhere for you to rest." Suddenly a loud growl erupted from Drake’s stomach and he looked up at her with a sheepish smile as the officer laughed. "I think I know what kind of reward I should give you for your valiant efforts," she said as she led Drake down the hallways of the police station.

My life is gone. Taken from me before my very eyes.

My father kept a journal of our travels and deliveries. He, mom and I helped write it together, but now I’m the only one left of my family. However, I will try to keep my own journal of my life, this, my father’s sword and the family journal… when I find it, will be my strongest reminders of my family and a past I will never forget.

This will be the first journal that I have started myself, so I guess I’ll begin with the basics.

My name is Drake Arlin. I’m a 13-year-old Mainoran Tiger. I am…. was a crewmember of my…. late father’s space freighter the SS Shooting Star. My job was that of a secondary navigator and pilot for the ship. My father, Charles Arlin (called Charlie by everyone else) was the primary pilot, captain, and owner of the ship and business. He and my mom, Liana Arlin, the secondary pilot, both trained me in the martial arts. I spent most of my time training with them, or in the engine room with Kevin and Orvano learning everything I could about the LightDrive engine and how to maintain a ship. They were two of the best mechanics I have ever met. Thanks to them, I learned the basics of how the LightDrive engines of Okami-class freighters operate and how to service them for maintenance and repair. They were like the older brothers I never had… the only brothers I ever had. Now I’ll never hear their voices again…

After the destruction of Mainor in the Siilv War, the crew of the Shooting Star became my official family. They were all I had left to run to – the only family and friends I had left to confide in, and now I’ve lost them as well….

I have just finished a session with an officer with a psychology degree. I think his greatest fear was that I might consider suicide…. But no, I consider that a coward’s way out. My family sacrificed themselves so that I could live my life the way I saw fit and I will not waste it in such a stupid way.

Officers of the Spatial Police Force came to the station the same day I was picked up and confirmed that I was the only survivor of the pirate attack. They also told me that my father’s ship remained intact, and aside from a few touchups here and there due to damage caused by the struggles onboard the ship, was in perfect working order. My father, before all this happened, had just traded in the old F-model Okami-class freighter for the new H-model. It was a step farther than my father expected to go but Kevin and Orvano told him that the H-model would be a better buy for the extra credits. Orvano told me that the new version was built to sustain heavier damage to both the outer and inner hulls of the ship while increasing its speed and holding capacity, so I wasn’t too surprised to hear that the ship sustained little damage. What did  surprise me was to find that Ashar didn’t blow up the ship when he was finished – that is, until the SPF told me that they had defused a timed bomb in the engine room. The SPF must have just arrived after Ashar and his crew got away. The SPF has set up an appointment for me to fly back to the ship and collect my belongings. I wish I could keep my father’s ship. He and mom worked for this so hard; I don’t want to see it sold off in an auction to someone I don’t know.

My parents’ funeral will be held in three days from today. I can’t believe they’re gone…

I will be staying at the Sakura Orphanage until I am either adopted, or turn seventeen and am of legal age to live on my own. I would doubt that anyone would want to adopt a 13-year-old cub, so it looks like I’ll be stuck there for a while. It already feels weird. For most of my life I’ve grown up in a space freighter. Most people told my parents that a ship was no place to raise a cub, but it suited me just fine, and I can tell that I am going to miss it…

 -Drake Arlin

 A dark figure emerged from an alleyway of Castelrosso on the world of Brandt. The city is was well known to all pirates of space as a safe haven and a valued port for space pirates and black market dealers alike. The young, dark gray mouse knew that he risked danger going there but he was use to that sort of thing anyway. The mouse was of average height and carried himself well. He adjusted his light gray trench coat to a more comfortable fit as he shrugged the shoulder of a long slender object wrapped securely in a cloth that was decorated in images of dragons, tigers, and wolves in various fighting stances.

"Why did the transport ship have to make a layover stop in Brandt of all places... much less in space pirate city?" the mouse thought as he headed toward a local bar and grill next to the harbor. He looked to the brightly colored evening sky as he took in the sight resolving to put away the feelings he had for this particular place. Before he entered the bar, he noticed the black wedge of a Sakura-class ship head towards the port and docking area.

"Hmm, that ship looks familiar for some reason," he said as he walked towards the doors, but quickly shoved the thought aside and entered the tavern. Knowing what kind of neighborhood he was in, he took a seat at a table off to the corner as he waved for a waitress. A tall female Calico, who in his opinion, was quite easy on the eyes, took his order as he settled into his seat and then left to relay his order to the cook after a short bow. Suddenly he felt a vibration in his pocket. He reached into his pocket and brought out a PDA unit and activated the screen. When he opened his e-mail he raised an eyebrow when he saw the title of a message sent to him labeled, "Urgent message about the Arlin family."

"I have a bad feeling about this. I hope everyone is alright," he said to himself as he navigated the stylus pen to open the new mail.

Sam, its Cassie. This is too horrible to even think of. I don’t know how to say this but… The Shooting Star was attacked by pirates while making a delivery to Dennier a few weeks ago… it was a slaughter. Almost everyone on board was murdered in the struggle to fend them off but the reports say that the crew was most likely out numbered. I tried to contact you earlier but there was too much interference with the connection. There is only one survivor, your godson, Drake. I’m so sorry Sam. I know how much the Arlin family and the crew of the  Shooting Star meant to you, and I assure you that we have every SPF officer available out looking for Ashar Dismond and his crew. I’m truly sorry Sam, I’ll keep you posted. Please contact me A.S.A.P.

 -Cassandra Barthrowl

 Samuel’s eyes went wide with shock as he read the message sent to him. Nothing in the universe would have prepared him for what he had just read. The Arlin family had been, in a sense, his own family as well, and he had known them for as long as he could remember. He lowered his head and closed his eyes tightly as tears threatened to well up in his eyes in an effort to fight them back, but to no avail. Without warning, light streams of tears darkened the fur on his cheek as he clinched his fist in anger, sorrow and struggle as he attempted to regain control of his emotions. For a long moment he sat there in silence his thoughts racing faster than the latest LightDrive engine, he couldn’t even hear the waitress next to him holding his plate in paw as she attempted to get his attention.

A light tap on his shoulder startled him as he quickly turned to see the paw’s owner. "Are you okay, sir?" the waitress asked, a worried look on her face.

It took a moment for Sam to figure out what she was talking about, until he saw her glance at his PDA unit which still had the e-mail on its screen.

It took every ounce of will he had to prevent more tears from falling down his already tear streaked fur. ‘Ashar will pay dearly for this...’ he thought to himself. ‘Ashar... The ship!’  Samuel’s eyes went wide as he realized that the ship that caught his attention earlier was none other than the ship of Ashar Dismond himself.

"Sir…" the waitress asked again, "is there something wr…"

She only finish half of her sentence when he shot out of his seat and franticly reached into his pockets. His voice caring a since of urgency as he spoke. "I’m sorry, but I must leave."

"But sir, your food."

A short live moment of relief that he took the time to go to a nearby bank to exchange credits for Brandtian currency quickly washed over him as he drop a bill on the table, grab his things and started for the door. "Keep the change!" He yelled over his shoulder before he disappeared thought the front door.

The waitress looked at the hundred jules note on the table with wide eyes, "But the pasta was only eight jules…" she whispered to herself.

Samuel bounded out the door of the tavern and raced for the space port. "Ashar is a dead fur when I get my paws on him." He thought to himself.

"Arlin was a whelp." A voice said from around a corner.

Sam quickly stopped in his tracks as the name Arlin caught his attention. A dark look crossed his features as he recognized the voice. Quickly taking stock of his surroundings, he ducked into a nearby dark ally behind a trash can just before Ashar rounded the corner.

"He was barely worth the effort of killing. Him and his woman." Ashar said as he walked towards the bar Sam just left, accompanied by his first mate, Azul, an average sized rat who walked with a limp on his right leg. A closer look told Sam that he had a wound on that leg that was poorly dressed with a dirty piece of cloth.

In the shadows of a dark ally, Samuel bared his teeth in anger as he slipped the strap of the long slender cloth-covered object from around his shoulder. He silently unwrapped the cloth on the top end of the object to reveal the silver hilt of well crafted sword.

"What about the boy?" Azul asked.

"The Arlin kid?"

Sam’s hand froze mere inches from his sword as he remembered the only survivor of The Shooting Star  "…Drake…" He said, silently the feeling of dread welling up in his chest.

Ashar chuckled lightly, a dark grin crossing the features of his face. "Well… I plan to finish what I started. He isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so I’ll have time to think of an appropriate demise for our little tiger friend."

Samuel clenched his fist in anger, but reluctantly coaxed himself in to thinking better about his actions.

            Wrapping his sword back up in the cloth, he waited and watched as Ashar and Azul disappeared into the tavern inn. Samuel burned with rage as he watched the killer of the people he considered the only family he ever had. Closing his eyes, he took in a few deep breaths to help him calm his nerves. In the middle of his slight meditation one name kept screaming at him in the back of his head. Opening his eyes he gently whispered to himself. "Drake…. I’ve got to get to him."

            Coming out of his hiding spot, he took a look around to make sure there were not more unpleasant surprises coming his way before nearly sprinting back towards the spaceport, thanking the creator that at least his godson had survived the attack. Chuckling to himself he pulled out his PDA and prepped it to send a gift to his friend Cassie and the SPF. If anything, Ashar will have a nice welcoming party when he sets out into space again.