There were some moments that just struck a person in such a powerful way it was obvious they would forever change the way one viewed their life.

"I might just throw up on you."

This was one of those moments.

The prophecy came to fruition in a matter of seconds. Sonic looked down, his face paling and lip curling at the sight of his beat up tennis shoes covered in bile. Super gross. There was very little he could say in the face of his shoes being violated on such a thorough level, and instead chose to gape at the bleary eyed echidna staring back at him.

"Sorry 'bout that," The echidna grunted, looking very ill, "Space travel makes me sick."

Sonic tried to look sympathetic to the man's plight, but he found it pretty hard when he could feel the man's lunch oozing into his socks. It looked like... grapes? (What a weird taste in diet.) Still, he forced himself to not jump out of his seat like it was on fire and slowly peeled his ruined shoes off his feet.

"Kind of funny that you're going to be working in space then," Sonic managed. A passing commander saw the situation and managed to gather a black trash bag. Sonic's poor shoes were shoved into the bag with prompt viciousness, leaving the the hedgehog to wonder if everyone hated his shoes today. Such thoughts were confirmed when he watched the bag containing his shoes being shoved into the trash compactor.

During this traumatizing event, the echidna grunted in acknowledgment before making his way to the restroom. When he reemerged, Sonic noted the echidna looked better. It seemed like he had brushed his teeth to destroy the traces of the lunch he was forced to taste twice. Some of the color had returned to tan cheeks.

"You going to be okay man? Do you need a doctor?" Sonic asked the echidna.  This earned him a look that was crossed somewhere between bemused, annoyed, or even slightly entertained by Sonic's questions.

The echidna shook his head as he sat down in his chair, "I don't need a doctor, I am a doctor."

Sonic was not comforted by this.

"Sorry about your shoes, I'll replace them for you," The echidna apologized, but didn't seem very embarrassed about the situation, which was a relief considering it was awkward enough, "The name is Knuckles."

"Sonic," a handshake, "I can't imagine how much of a doctor you'll be in space if you can't keep your lunch down on the trip up."

Knuckles looked faintly amused at Sonic's first hand observation and buckled himself into his seat. He used a bit more force than was necessary to tighten the straps.

"Yeah, well I gotta see the sights somehow and I'm not going anywhere if I stay planetside," Knuckles muttered, "Besides, space is the only place where I can take my cargo and not be followed."

Sonic looked somewhat interested in the passenger's mysterious cargo, but Knuckles waved him off saying it wasn't important. Sonic thought Knucklescouldn't be more contrary if he tried, especially since Knuckles was going out of his way to take it into space of all places.

"Well Knux," Sonic drawled as he leaned back in the shuttlecraft, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

There were some moments a person just knew were going to make a huge impact on their lives.  At this moment Sonic knew he and Knuckles would end up being very good friends if not for the simple fact that the echidna could vomit on Sonic's shoes and bounce back from that without so much as batting an eye.

Out of all the passengers strapped in their seats, he and Knuckles were the only ones that hadn't bothered to dress in their Cadet Reds.  The rest of the Cadets were all snot nosed brats, and Sonic had a feeling that all or most had the best training in whatever field they were studying.  They didn't seem very accepting of a country hick like Sonic.

"Nancy floofs don't know the first thing about diseases and space travel," Knuckles grumbled and gave a cadet an annoyed look who was staring at him like he had grown a second head, "What're you lookin' at?"

The echidna leaned back in his seat and from his knapsack pulled out a flask-like container. At Sonic's questioning look, Knuckles arched an eyeridge, "See for yourself. Ancient echidna recipe for calming the nerves and stomach." Knuckles' lips twisted into a wry grin and he offered the flask to the hedgehog, "

Sonic took a sip and promptly spluttered, coughing hard as the burn crept up his ears and down his throat, making his eyes prick with moisture.

"This is alcohol!"

A dry chuckle, "I think some Klingon's would beg to disagree."

Sonic was still trying to regain the ability to speak throughout all that and gasped for breath, "You mean they drink battery acid on other planets?"

"Don't be such an infant."

"Give me that," Sonic grumbled as he snatched the flask from the echidna. He took another sniff and under Knuckles' expectant eye, took another bold sip of the drink, this time preparing himself for the burn.

The echidna snorted as Sonic went back for seconds, amused the hedgehog would even bother especially considering the effects the first drink had on him. He took the flask and raised it to the air, "Cheers."

It was around that time when the burn began to make its way down Sonic's esophagus, did Sonic know that yes -- he and Knuckles would be great friends.

-::-

Being friends with Knuckles was a lot like having a personal guard dog. The echidna was exceptionally protective and always had a habit of making his presence known. He was an immensely experienced doctor but very close lipped about anything concerning his family. Sonic never pressed him, but Knuckles said that it was his job to be a Guardian on Angel Island where he was from. When Sonic asked him what Angel Island was since he had never heard or seen it before, a shadow had crossed over Knuckles' face. A simple reply of, 'I know, and you never will" was all the information Sonic got about the other's home.

Knuckles made good on his word over replacing Sonic's footwear, and in exchange the hedgehog got to drive his friend up the wall by showing off his impressive speed. Knuckles claimed it was unnatural for a hedgehog to have an ability like that. In all his years of medicine, he had never seen anything like it. To which Sonic quickly replied that it was just as unnatural for an echidna to be able to punch holes in titanium.

Knuckles didn't want to admit he had a point, but claimed his strength came from being in constant contact with a giant shiny rock. It made no sense to Sonic, but he accepted the explanation readily enough.

"I was born in the stars," Sonic quipped cheekily, "Gravity doesn't affect me."

"That's not a real reason," Knuckles said, voice as dry as the Sahara.

Sonic had only waved Knuckles' questions off and changed the subject. Knuckles hadn't thought to pursue the topic any longer, distracted instead by talk of class. Namely a teacher Knuckles couldn't stand.

"This guy hasn't been knocked off his high horse for as long as he's been at the academy," Knuckles growled in frustration, "He and his No-Win simulation. It's a wonder no one has decked him yet -- especially since no one has beaten that stupid test!"

Sonic, who had only been paying halfway attention, perked up at the idea of the challenge, "Wait, what test is this?"

Knuckles gave Sonic a long-suffering glare and muttered something under his breath about snot-nosed brats, "The Kobiyashi Maru. Y'know, the test that all cadets under the Command division are required to take?" He jabbed Sonic with the blunt end of a hypospray he was fiddling with, "That's your division, remember? It's optional for everyone else though."

Already Sonic wasn't paying a lick of attention, instead contemplating a plan in his head, "The Kobiyashi Maru huh...?" His lips twitched up at the corners, "Who programmed it?"

The echidna was wide to make a wide birth of space between himself and Sonic. He had long since learned whenever Sonic got that particular gleam in his eye, it was hard to dissuade him of anything, "Commander Shadow -- Sonic you don't really hope to beat that test do you?"

A blinding white smile was Knuckles answer.

"It's part of the Command requirement, now isn't it?" Sonic chuckled, "I've got to take it anyway, so I might as well be the first to beat it."

"But no one beats it Sonic," Knuckles said, aghast.

Sonic was already up on his feet and grinning, looking for information on his newest target. It was clear he hadn't heard a word from Knuckles, "Lets see what you got Commander Shadow."