Enemy Territory
Summary: The Storm Hawks are all set to enjoy a festival when they receive word that Starling has gone missing during a mission, investigating rumours of rebellion in Cyclonia. So they set out to Cyclonia and into trouble.
Disclaimer: All Publicly Recognizable Characters, Settings, Ideas, etc. are the Property of Nerd Corp. The Original Characters and Plot are the Property of the Author. The Author is in no way Associated with the Owners, Creators, or Producers of Nerd Corp. No Copyright Infringement is intended.
Chapter One: It Starts
Thursday, 5:30 pm, Condor Hangar
To those familiar with the Condor and its inhabitants, the sight of the contents of the hangar bay would seem…odd. It wasn't the shabbiness of the walls, with their patches of rust or the fact that there was what appeared to be a fourteen-year-old dark-skinned girl with gold eyes covered in oil working on a motorcycle with a propeller sticking out of it, it was the fact that a blue eyed blond boy was wearing a tuxedo and trying to tie a bowtie around his neck. To add to the incredulousness of the situation, another fourteen-year-old walked in, a green-eyed and red-haired boy this time. He did not seem comfortable in his attire.
"Washroom's free Piper whenever you're ready," he said as he passed her.
"Thanks." she replied looking him up and down. "You look…"
"Like a penguin," he groaned.
She smiled. The tuxedo was slightly gray due to its age—it was the best they were able to rent in his size. Despite that, the leader looked rather sophisticated, due in no small part to the uncomfortable attire forcing him to stand up straight with his shoulders bent back so he could not comfortably slouch. Not that he normally did slouch; he had just never stood as tall as he did now.
"I was going to say dashing, but, that works too," she chuckled.
"I don't know why we're even going to this thing," complained Finn for the fifth time that hour, as he leaned against his skimmer and failed in his futile attempt at tying his bow.
Piper wiped her hands on a nearby cloth and walked over to him shaking her head.
"Because we were invited," she informed him as she tied the annoying piece of cloth into something more recognizable. "Besides, all the Sky Knights and their squads attend the Festival of Light."
"Why do they call it that anyway?" the blond asked.
"It's metaphorical. Light represents hope and promise for the future." Aerrow explained, "Remember, all of Atmos used to be Cyclonian territory—until the Sky Knights changed that."
"Yeah, yeah, and the Festival is a celebration of the Sky Knight's victory. It takes place over five days, with half the Knights attending the first two and the other half the last two with a day in the middle for travel time," Finn finished for him, rolling his eyes. He'd heard it too many times already. "Why not just have all the Sky Knights there at once?"
"Because with so many Knights gone it would leave Atmos open to attack," sighed Piper repeating what she and Aerrow had told Finn who knew how many times now.
"Why do you think we spent the last two days in Gale covering for the Rebel Ducks?" asked Aerrow.
"Well I can't wait," said Junko gleefully as he walked into the hanger. Like his male teammates, he was also wearing a tuxedo. "All that food..." he continued, licking his lips.
"Aerrow, he's drooling," whispered Piper.
"I'll keep an eye on him," he reassured her.
"You can't handle Radarr," she hissed remembering the embarrassment of the evening dinner at Terra Rex.
"Where is Radarr anyway?" asked Junko.
"Probably hiding; I don't think he's thrilled about getting dressed up," said Finn.
"Well while you guys look for him, I'm going to clean up." Piper announced as she walked towards her room.
"This oughta be good, Piper in a dress," chuckled Finn as the specialist left the room.
"Does she even have a dress?" asked Junko.
"Of course she does, she is a girl. Right?" questioned Aerrow.
"Dude, better not let her hear you doubting her gender," Finn warned, still wrestling with his bow tie, which to him seemed crooked.
"I was referring to the dress." sighed Aerrow hoping Piper hadn't heard him. "Now c'mon and help me find Radarr."
***
"C'mon Radarr it's just for one night, and there'll be good food," consoled Aerrow as he stood next to his Skimmer. The Condor had recently made its landing on Terra Atmosia, and he was hoping to leave soon.
Radarr glared and sank further into his co-pilot seat, his arms crossed. He wasn't happy with having to wear a mini-tux. He found that the thing limited his movement to the point where he had trouble jumping onto his Knight's shoulder. His only thought was that there had better be very good food at this thing.
"Where's Stork? I haven't seen him either," Aerrow realized, glancing at the resident sharpshooter.
"I just passed him on my way from the washroom. He'll be here soon," Finn said distractedly as he was checking his reflection in his skimmer
"I still say I should stay with the Condor," sighed the merb himself as he entered the hangar, walking towards his Stork-mobile.
The carrier pilot was also dressed up, though he wasn't wearing a tux, just a pair of nice navy pants with a matching jacket and black shirt; he was also carrying a book under one arm.
"Stork, this is a social event," stated Aerrow, eyeing the thickness of the book. He was also wondering what safety measures were installed in it for 'just in case' emergencies.
Stork looked at the Sky Knight as if he had just suggested jumping into the wastelands was fun. "You want me to socialize and expose myself to countless diseases from people who can't take two minutes out of their day to wash their hands?" he cringed slightly at the thought and continued. "Besides in case you haven't noticed I'm not exactly the social type."
Aerrow sighed and shook his head, turning back to his own skimmer.
"I'm surprised we were even invited," Stork continued, "seeing as we're not 'official.'"
"I think it has something to do with saving all the other Sky Knights from the Dark Ace, when he, Snipe, Ravess, and the Raptors took those amplifying crystals," interrupted Piper from the doorway. "Or, you know, pretty much any other time we've saved a part of the Atmos from Cyclonia."
Everyone turned to look and their jaws dropped. Piper not only had on a stunning, dark navy, knee-length dress that complemented her figure wonderfully, but she was wearing eye shadow and lipstick—makeup. She wasn't wearing much, just a subtle touch that made her look more polished. Instead of her usual orange head band, she had a navy one that matched her dress. Her crystal necklace was the only item in its usual position.
"You guys just gonna stare?" she asked timidly, pleased at having such an effect but still a little embarrassed by it.
Sometimes she swore they forgot she was a girl. It didn't help that she was usually the only girl on the ship either.
"Wow, Piper you look…Wow," Junko managed to complement with his usual eloquence.
"You look great Piper," Aerrow told her with a smile as he turned back to Radarr who chirped and nodded from his seat.
"Dude, you actually look like a girl!" Finn said incredulously, staring at her in wide-eyed wonder.
"Excuse me?" Piper put a hand on her hip.
"I mean, not that you don't always look like a girl…'cause you do, it's just that now you look…like a lady," Finn back-pedalled furiously.
Piper cocked her eyebrow and shrugged, turning to Stork.
"You're toast if we're attacked, you know," he drawled, taking a seat in his Stork-mobile.
Piper rolled her eyes, as did the rest of the Storm Hawks.
"Well," Aerrow announced, "we should get going. Everyone, to your skimmers!" he ordered.
***
Thursday, 6:30 pm, terra Atmosia, City Hall
Aerrow stood by a pillar in the great hall. He remembered the last time he had been here to register the Storm Hawks as an official squadron they had been refused due to their age, but it seemed despite this they were accepted by the other Sky Knights. The hall was well-lit with torches which provided a warm glow, and the tables were full enough of a variety of food to satisfy even Junko—for one night.
"Ah Aerrow, how good it is to see you again," said a pompous voice from behind the youth.
"Harrier, been a while," replied Aerrow politely, turning to the owner of the voice.
The Rex Guardian wasn't wearing a tuxedo but a very expensive-looking red tunic with gold trim instead.
"Yes, I wanted to thank you again for showing me those flying manoeuvres for they've come in rather useful. And Piper's insights on crystals have also proven invaluable."
"Glad to hear you're holding up."
Harrier stiffened. "Was there ever any doubt?"
"Considering how badly the Dark Ace creamed you guys? Yeah," laughed Finn from behind Harrier.
"Finn. Always a pleasure," greeted the blond Sky Knight icily. "I'll see you later, Aerrow." With that Harrier walked off into the crowd.
"What?" exclaimed Finn in reply to Aerrow's slight glare. "The Dark Ace did cream 'em. Five of them in, like, ten seconds."
The young knight shook his head. "Have you even left the buffet table?" he asked, seeing the crumbs on his wingman's jacket.
Finn followed Aerrow's gaze and dusted himself off. "Of course I haven't spent all my time at the buffet; I…came over here, yeah, to talk to you."
Aerrow raised an eyebrow. "About what?"
"I saw Stork talking to a merb girl." Finn told him, holding his hand next to his mouth and leaning forward as if not wanting to be heard; not that it really helped since he was speaking around his usual volume.
"Stork?" asked Aerrow dubiously, raising his other eyebrow "Where?"
"Over there dude, by that pillar," he answered, nodding to his left.
Aerrow walked over to the pillar his sharpshooter had pointed to, Finn accompanied him, until his nose detected chocolate covered fizzel berries. Fizzel berries were extremely hard to find on most terras. If he didn't get to them soon Junko would—if he hadn't already. He left Aerrow just before he could see around the pillar.
Aerrow spotted Stork sitting down on a chair next to the wall, reading a book beside a merb woman. She looked to be in her twenties with yellowish-green skin and dark hair.
"Stork, would it kill you to interact just a little?"
"I am interacting;" the merb drawled, "we switched books," he continued, gesturing to the female merb beside him. She looked up, nodded briefly and returned to her book without saying a word.
Aerrow smiled and shook his head, deciding to give up. He had told himself when he first received the invitation he would try to get Stork to interact and enjoy himself. He had tried, and if all the merb wanted to do was quietly read a book who was he to complain? Besides, switching books with a female was more than the young Sky Knight had actually expected.
"Hey, Aerrow." The youth turned to see his second in command standing behind him.
"Oh hey, Piper."
"Looking for someone?"
"Yeah. Starling. I was hoping she'd be here… you haven't seen her?"
"No, but she might have come during the first two days."
"I asked Casiornis, the Rebel Duck's Sky Knight, but he said he hadn't seen her."
"Maybe she decided not to come. She is a bit of a loner."
Both turned their heads as slow music began to play. "Care to dance?" Aerrow asked, offering his hand with a small bow. All that late night studying was about to pay off; hopefully this time Piper wouldn't be so embarrassed of them.
"I'd love to," she answered, placing her hand in his as they walked onto the dance floor. Still holding her hand, Aerrow placed his other on her hip while she placed hers on his shoulder. The two moved to the music and managed to avoid stepping on each others toes. They were by no means superb dancers, but they weren't bad either.
"Something wrong, Aerrow?" asked Piper noticing he was looking to her right halfway through the song.
Aerrow leaned forward a little. "That girl's been staring at us," he said quietly.
On the next turn, Piper followed his gaze and spotted a raven-haired girl who looked to be about their age. Her hair was parted to the right with the back sticking up; she was wearing the black pants and white shirt of the catering service. She was staring at them as she placed more food on the buffet table and cleared away empty dishes. The way she was hunching over the table, Aerrow was unable to determine her height. She looked away quickly when she saw them return her gaze, but she was glancing up again every few seconds to see if the two Storm Hawks had decided she was no longer worth investigation. Realizing they weren't about to do that, she darted to the kitchen, arms full of dirty dishes.
"That was…weird," Aerrow said as his eyes lingered on the door where the girl had disappeared. He frowned slightly as he mulled this information over.
"Yeah, what was that about?"
"What's what about?" asked Finn from behind the pair.
"This girl kept staring at us," Aerrow informed him, still frowning.
"Was she hot?" The two looked pointedly at him. "Hey, I'm just saying maybe she wanted to dance with one of the famous Storm Hawks. Chica-cha," he added, making a gun motion with his hands.
Piper and Aerrow rolled their eyes.
"It's not that unbelievable, guys—we are becoming pretty famous." said Finn.
Minutes later, Aerrow was filling his glass with punch when he heard a voice behind him. "Excuse me."
He turned to see the dark-haired girl from before. On closer examination, he saw she had blue eyes was about an inch shorter than him, and seemed to be his age. "Umm, my name is Sparrow. My older brother was Eider of the Interceptors."
"Eider? I've read about him," his voice quieted a bit as he remembered the story of how Starling had become the only interceptor. "Sorry about what happened."
"He knew the risks," she mumbled, looking at the floor. "Starling and I still keep in contact." Her shoulders slumped, and the knight could tell something was wrong.
"…How is Starling?" he asked, when the girl didn't continue.
She still didn't say anything for a few seconds before she took a deep breath. "I don't know. She's missing."
"What do you mean 'missing'?" he asked, placing his glass on the table and giving Sparrow his undivided attention.
She didn't look him in the eyes, instead, focusing on a point past their feet. "She came to me, telling me she was going on a dangerous mission but she would contact me every two days; and if she didn't, I was to contact you. I wasn't sure about the best way to contact you. I figured I could ask another squad to radio you, but you might not have been in range. Since you guys don't have a terra, no one knows where you can be found. I figured you'd attend the festival, so I got a job as a caterer since only caterers, Sky Knights and their squads attend the ball."
"How long has it been?"
There was another long pause. "Five days, since I heard from her."
"What was the mission?" Aerrow asked, gently placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her; she seemed to be on the edge of tears.
"She wanted to go into Cyclonia, to see about a resistance movement she had heard about."
"Where in Cyclonia?" Cyclonian territory covered a lot of terras.
"Terra Cyclonia."
'Of course,' he thought. 'It would be there wouldn't it?' "Come on," he told her as he led her to where he had last seen Finn, certain the wingman hadn't left the buffet table.
He grabbed Finn's arm as soon as he reached him. "Finn, go find Junko and tell him to meet us on the Condor."
"Why?" asked Finn as he swallowed a bite of the cake he was eating. His tux was covered in crumbs of different colours and sizes.
"We got a mission."
"Now?" Finn complained. "But this girl's checking me out," he told them, winking to a girl a few feet away; she rolled her eyes and disappeared into the crowd.
"Finn," Aerrow warned, eyes narrowing.
"Aww, all right. I'll go get Junko."
As soon as the sharpshooter was gone, Aerrow looked under the table. "Hey Radarr, hiding out I see." The creature was currently sitting on the floor, a plate filled with the carnage of an unidentified food before him, jacket and bow crumpled on the stone floor next to him, scratching his ear. He turned at his friend's voice and smiled, showing bits of food between his teeth.
"Party's over. We have a mission."
At once, Radarr jumped to his feet and saluted.
"Meet us back on the Condor; I gotta find Piper and Stork." Radarr nodded and, leaving his cake behind, darted out from the table.
"Okay, now to find Stork. Shouldn't be hard."
Stork was probably in the same place he had been all night.
"I'm sorry about ruining the festival for you," Sparrow said behind him quietly.
"Don't worry about it. We're always happy to help Starling. Besides, these social events aren't really my squad's thing," Aerrow admitted.
She didn't look too convinced. "But the festival tomorrow isn't formal. Its games, contests and sky duels."
Aerrow shrugged. "Yeah, well, there's always next year. Finding out what's happened to Starling is more important," Aerrow replied, returning to the place Stork was sitting. "Time to go, Stork, we've got a mission."
The pilot sighed. Just when he was starting to enjoy himself, he had discovered that Melonie, which was the female merb's name, had excellent taste in books. "Don't suppose I could borrow this, could I?" he asked turning to her.
Aerrow caught a glance at the title, 'The Helpless Ways of Staving off Viridian Mind Worms.'
"I suppose, if I can borrow this one," Melonie agreed reluctantly.
"We're going to be awhile. We won't be back till after the festival." Aerrow informed the pair.
"You're the Storm Hawks right?" she asked with a smile. "So no terra to get back to, right? You can drop it off when you're done. You know where the Cloud Wolves can be found?"
Stork nodded "Sounds good, so long as we're not blown up, or captured, or—"
"I'm gonna go find Piper. See ya on the ship," interrupted Aerrow before the merb could really get going.
"There's your friend," said Sparrow suddenly, pointing to the dance floor where Aerrow could see Piper dancing with one of the Rex Guardians; Walker, a sharpshooter. He could tell she was having a good time and decided to wait until the dance was over. As soon as the music ended, he quickly strode across the floor and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Sorry to interrupt Piper, but we got a mission."
"We have to leave now?" asked Piper, gesturing to her dancing partner. The next song had already started, and she, unlike the rest of the Storm Hawks, enjoyed social events. It was a chance to dress up and act like a real girl.
"Starling's in trouble."
"Oh well if it's for Starling," said Piper, perking up at the chance of seeing her second favourite Sky Knight.
"Sorry Walker," she continued turning to the sharpshooter.
Walker smiled and bowed to show he understood. The specialist curtsied before turning back to her sky knight. As the pair walked toward the exit, Aerrow gestured to Sparrow, who had watched the conversation from the edge of the dance floor. Quickly, she joined the pair as they walked to the doors. Piper gave her a quizzical look but said nothing.
***
Thursday, 9:00 pm, Condor, Cockpit
It was not until the Storm Hawks were gathered around the table of the cockpit that Aerrow proceeded with the introductions.
"Everyone, this is Sparrow," introduced Aerrow. "She's a friend of Starling's. Seems Starling went to Cyclonia to check out a resistance movement she had heard about."
"Well, why are you so worried?" asked Finn. "I mean it's not like she hasn't been there before."
"But now they know her," said Sparrow. "What she looks like, how her voice sounds. The Dark Ace may have been fooled once, but that wouldn't happen twice. Besides, she's been such a thorn in their side lately that only a few don't know her on sight, same with you guys. My terra's rich in chroma crystals—powerful ones. Starling used one to alter not only her hair, but her skin and eye color. Problem with crystals is they can be easily found by others and removed or lost. If Starling's lost hers then she'd be in trouble."
"What about the resistance movement?" asked Junko "Wouldn't they help her?"
"She mentioned in her last message that she thought she had found a way into the resistance, but for all I know, she might not have managed to contact them."
"We're going into Cyclonia aren't we?" sighed Stork. It was more a statement then a question. "Maybe I should just return Melonie's book now, since I'm never going to see her again."
"Stork has a girlfriend? Since when?" exclaimed Finn, whirling on the pilot. "Oh, I get it—that girl you were talking to."
"Stork was talking to a girl?" asked Junko, leaning forward with interest.
"Guys, focus!" snapped Piper. "We need a plan."
"Piper's right. Stork and Junko will have to stay behind with the Condor they'd draw too much attention."
"Not with these chroma crystals," Sparrow smiled, holding out a pair of purple chroma crystals. "These can make you two look human, and make small alteration to a human's face, different shaped eyes and that sort of thing."
"Wow, thanks Sparrow," said Junko, reaching for one.
"Yeah, thanks." Stork glared as he took the other and pocketed it. In doing so he accidentally activated it.
"What?" he asked in response to his teammates' wide eyes and gaping jaws. Sparrow giggled.
Stork didn't look like Stork. His eyes were white, save for the pupil and iris which were black and yellow respectively. His skin was the peachy color of a human, and his face, though a bit more elongated then a human's, it at least maintained the basic human form. He held up his hands and was surprised to see five digits. He flexed them and found the pinkie and ring fingers were glued together.
"Wow," said Piper when she noticed the hands.
Stork looked down at his feet. He appeared to be wearing large brown boots; the rest of his clothing remained unaltered.
"Cool, I wanna try," exclaimed Junko, activating his.
The transformation for Junko was not as startling a difference as it had been for the carrier pilot. His horn disappeared and was replaced with a human nose, his ears became round and moved down the side of his head. He seemed to have more hair covering his head and his skin became light brown in color.
He held up his hand to see how that had changed. Wallops, like merbs, only had four fingers—his 'pinkie' and ring finger were glued but other than that, they were normal. He turned to check out his reflection in the window. "Wow! That is so cool!"
"I still think someone should stay with the Condor," murmured the pilot, shifting his focus from his refection in the window to the Sky Knight, "and I volunteer."
"Stork we can't bring the Condor with us," said Piper "it's too big to safely hide nearby. The Condor would be useful backup, but in Cyclonia it'll also be a larger target. A small group with skimmers would have an easier time moving about unseen and considering how outnumbered we'll be, I think that's the safer option."
"Piper's right, we need to leave the Condor someplace safe. If we need to leave in a hurry we'll steal something from the Cyclonians, so we'll probably need your piloting skills Stork," pointed out Aerrow. "I don't want to risk the Cyclonians finding out we're not home, they might wonder where we are."
"Not to mention what they'll do to the Condor," said the merb, eyes twitching as he brought his hands to his face in terror.
"Hey how 'bout Terra Vapos—nobody knows where that is, except us," suggested Finn.
"And a few Murk Raiders," murmured Stork.
Sparrow looked around sceptically. "Wait, Terra Vapos? That's a myth."
"No, it's not," said Aerrow "and it is the safest place. Stork, set a course for Terra Mesa, we'll drop Sparrow off first. Sparrow, I want you on standby in case Starling tries to contact you, let her know we're in Cyclonia," ordered Aerrow.
"If we're still alive by then," added Stork as the Condor took off.
Next update will be on Feb 8