To Fly Free
Prologue
It had begun quietly, as all rebellions tend to, deep within the foundations of a man's heart. With deep-rooted disgust, a man gazed at the outside world; inwardly seething when he beheld the newest occupants of earth.
" You appear upset, Captain." a voice said, from behind; the sneering quality in it angering the man even further.
" It's none of your concern." the man growled; his tone warning the metal monstrosity behind him that it was treading on thin ice, at best.
" Is it because you are handing in your resignation notice? That you are handing over your ship and crew to our empire?" the machine man questioned, blatantly ignoring the man's unspoken warning, and boldly approaching him as he spoke. The next thing the machine man knew, was that the man had his gravity saber pointed at his ' face' , and a fierce light was shining in his eyes.
" Try that again, and I will make certain that your 'immortality' ends right here. Am I making myself abundantly clear?" the man snarled. With a shaky nod, the machine man backed away from him; barely suppressing a shudder as he did so. Even though the man before him was from the defeated Earth Alliance Fleet, he still walked with pride...still held his head high. Yet, it was the man's background that made him all the more formidable. Even though he was a well-known, well-respected captain, no one knew his real name. All who served under him had called him 'Yasha' since he'd fought with such a determination, that it had reminded some of the Eastern crewmen under him of some of their ancient myths. His command, the Octavian, had been one of the constant 'thorns' in the Machine Empire's flesh over the few years the war had been going on; proving time and again how wily and ingenious human captains could be...But it was all over, now.
"We'll have to watch him carefully, to make certain he isn't able to follow the Karyu' s captain and crew into rebellion. This man has the fierceness to match both of the known remaining members of the Harlock Clan." the machine man mused, as the elevator stopped on the floor the office Yasha wanted to go into was, and the disgraced captain walked out. Yet he still shivered involuntarily when the image of the man's fury-filled grey-flecked brown eyes remained, long after the man in question had disappeared down the hall, and the elevator doors had closed.
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
Far away from the cities, on a rustic farm, a ten-year-old boy played; oblivious to the turmoil the earth was facing. At his side, a bundle of silver-grey fur toddled along beside him; never letting him leave its' sight. Both perked up when they heard and saw a car pull up, and the boy let out a whoop when he saw someone he knew emerge from it.
" Dad!" the boy shouted, as he raced to the uniformed man that stood in front of the house with suitcases in hand. With a grin, the man threw his luggage aside, held his arms open to the boy, and allowed said child to leap into his embrace.
" You made it home! I knew you would!" the boy cried, happily, as he enthusiastically hugged his father's neck.
" It would take more than an occupation fleet to kill me, Fritz. How have you been?" the man asked, as he patted the boy once on the back, and then lowered him to the ground again. At this the boy grinned up at him.
" I've been great, Dad! I've even found a new friend! Look!" the boy said, as he motioned to the pup that was, even now, standing at his side. With a warm smile, the man extended a hand to the pup; his smile broadening when it tried to place a paw within it to 'shake' his hand in greeting.
" And greetings to you, little one. What name do you go by?" the man asked, gently.
" His name's Silvereye, since he's got one silver eye and one blue one. Found 'im a couple of days ago, all alone." Fritz replied, sobering slightly when he mentioned that, yet then said, "But he's not alone anymore!"
" That I can see. Welcome to the family, Silvereye. It's good to have you." the man stated, as he gently shook the pup's paw, then moved his hand and rubbed the backs of the pup's ears.
"Are you home to stay, Dad?" Fritz asked, as he watched his father stand, and then stiffly move to get his suitcases. He was answered by a somber nod.
" It seems that way. The earth is now in the hands of its' oppressors. History is repeating itself in the worst way imaginable." the man sighed, then gave his son an unreadable smile, before silently adding, " But at least now I have been able to return to spend time with the only family I have left." Yet, he seemed surprised when he saw what seemed to be a look of comprehension in the pup's young eyes.
" Come on. The least I can do before sunset is take you both out in the Arcadia." the man then said; his words getting a whoop of excitement from Fritz, and an equally eager yip from the wolf pup as well. Within the hour, the man (who was now dressed in a black flightsuit) was opening what appeared to be a makeshift hangar; revealing what was inside that had gotten such an excited response from the boy. An ancient airplane sat in its' makeshift berth; restored wings and cockpit gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. It was an old Messerschmidt style plane, that had the name 'Arcadia' emblazoned boldly on its' left side. With reverence, the man walked up to it, and touched the name; remembering all of the old tales he'd heard in his youth about his ancestors, and their homeland in Germany.
" It seems the pirate knight's blood is still flowing strongly in me, and my son. I can only hope that it won't be shed by those damned Machine Men." the man thought, venomously; yet hid his inner rage from view, when his son dashed into the hangar dressed in his flightsuit, with the wolf pup tucked tightly into a blanket in his arms.
" Ready to fly?" the man asked.
" You bet!" Fritz answered, eagerly, as Silvereye uttered another bark in agreement. The man then allowed a smile to appear on his face, as well.
" Then let's go." the man said, as he attached a ladder to the side of the aircraft, picked up both boy and wolf pup, and then effortlessly climbed up into the cockpit. With practiced ease, the man started the engine in the old plane, then guided it out of the hangar; only pulling the cockpit closed when it was clear enough of the opening to pick up speed.
" Hey, Dad." Fritz shouted, amidst the roar of the plane's engine.
" Yes?" the man responded, as he busily checked the dials and gauges in preparation for flight.
" Let's fly an' keep on flying! Maybe we can make it to where the big Arcadia is!" Fritz suggested; getting an agreeing bark from Silvereye as he said that. At first, the man wanted to say no to the idea; he couldn't disgrace his family's honor by running away!
"And yet, that was exactly what my direct ancestor had done. What right do I have to claim such honor for myself, when I myself am descended from a coward?" he wondered, then glanced into the hopeful eyes of his son and pet wolf and nodded.
" Are you sure? There's no turning back, once we start flying." he warned.
" Yeah." Fritz said, solemnly; surprising his father with how much thought he'd seemed to have put into the seemingly sudden decision.
" Let's fly! Let's fly!" Silvereye yipped, excitedly; forgetting himself in that moment of impatience, and causing the man to freeze and give him a wondering look.
" Oops..." Silvereye mumbled, when he realized what he'd done, and the disbelieving look he was getting from his friend's father. Then the man shook his head, and gave the pup a rueful smile that said it all. Moments later, the old airplane was airborne...their journey to freedom had begun.
Author's Note!
GRR DAMMIT! I HATE THIS SITE! I tried to upload it in the usual rtf format, and this shitty site said it was an empty document! I'm sorry if this chapter doesn't look right, but this fucked up site isn't cooperating!
Gemini14