Hey what's up everyone!

Welcome back to another chapter of Callsign: Phoenix.

This chapter wasn't originally going to be written. But after doing some editing with Praetor, I decided to split the last chapter up some and add some stuff.

Also, thoughts will now be in italics.

As always, I'm open to any thoughts or ideas.

That's about it. So enjoy the chapter!

"Remember when we first met?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah," Matthew said tears shining in his eyes.

As they sat there, Matthew's mind couldn't help but wander back to all of their adventures together.

***Flashback***

***The Booyago Academy***

It was four years before the incident on Hoyt. The newest batch of troops for the Corven military had just graduated and were celebrating; all except one. This one trooper was standing alone in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall. This trooper's name was Matthew Dunn.

Back then, Matthew was a tall, young man with a muscular build. His hair is jet black, standing out against his light skin. His eyes are a hazy brown and have a hint of sadness to them. He is wearing a white graduate uniform with three red stripes going down his right sleeve, signifying him being part of the top ten in the graduates.

Matthew was standing there watching everyone celebrate. How can everyone be so happy? he wondered. After this, we'll be shipped off to go fight. A lot of the people here probably won't even be alive in a month.

Watching Matthew from the crowd, Taylor Summers tugged on the end of her uniform sleeve nervously. She had liked Matthew for a while now but had always been afraid to tell him. But after realizing that they'll be shipping out tomorrow, the weight of the situation hit her fully, and she decided that she would tell him while she has the chance. Gathering her courage, she begins to walk towards Matthew.

"You can do this Taylor," she muttered to herself. "You've made it through the hellish training and will soon be in combat. Something as simple as telling a guy you like him should be a piece of cake."

As Matthew continued looking around the room, he noticed a girl walking over to him. She was a tall, young woman with a slightly muscular build. Her light skin makes her raven hair and dark green eyes stand out. She was very attractive in Matthew's opinion. As she continued to make her way over, she snatched a drink from one of the waiters walking around.

As Taylor got closer to Matthew, her mind wandered as she tried to think of something to say. This caused Taylor to miss the person walking in front of her. And before she could react, she ran into them, making her trip and spill her drink all over Matthew.

The sound of Taylor and the cup hitting the group and the person Taylor ran into yelling draws a crowd. Taylor is embarrassed to say the least. She keeps her eyes locked on the ground, afraid to look at anyone. That's it, she thinks, I'm done for. She looks up when she hears someone chuckling. It was Matthew. Oh jeez, he probably thinks I'm a loser now. She was expecting him to laugh at her more but was surprised when he offered her a hand.

"Oh jeez, I'm so sorry!" Taylor finally spoke, grabbing onto his hand and letting him pull her up. She quickly grabbed a napkin small towel form a nearby table and tried to dry him off. "It's fine," Matthew chuckled again. "It was about time we had some excitement around here."

Matthew's comment made Taylor smile. Oh great, she thought. I can't tell him how I feel after that.

"Hey, do you want to go somewhere a little less noisy and hang out?" Matthew asked.

"I would love to." Taylor replied.

After Matthew got dried off, he and Taylor left the celebration and went outside to the airpads. Once they were there, they laid down and to at the stars while they talked. They sat there for a few hours, just talking and laughing and getting to know each other. The entire time they were talking, Taylor was so happy. She may not have gotten to tell Matthew how she feels, but she wouldn't trade this time with him for the world.

After a while, Taylor asked Matthew why he decided to join the Corven military. "It's because my parents were killed during the rebel uprising on Toranso." Matthew said. "Hopefully I can help keep that from happening to anyone else."

"Matthew…" Taylor said. She knew everyone had their reasons for joining, but with the way he acted, she would never have imagined that.

"How about you?" Matthew asked.

"I don't know honestly," she said. "I've just always felt a calling for this."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Matthew stood up.

"Hey," Matthew said, making Taylor look up at him. "I've got some pull around here. You want to be in a squad together?" Matthew said while grinning.

"You'd want to be in a squad with me?" Taylor asked.

Matthew just laughed. "Yeah. I've got a feeling we'd have some great adventures."

Taylor blushed, which went unnoticed by Matthew. "Yeah. That sounds like it'll be fun!"

***Flashback End***

"I remember how embarrassed you were." Matthew said while chuckling.

"Yeah," Taylor choked out, "That was pretty embarrassing."

Matthew looked her in the eyes. "Let's get you better. We still have a lot of adventures to go on." he said with a sad smile.

Taylor just looked him in the eyes and replied, "Sorry... but my journey ends here... We had a great run, though. Now go have some adventures of your own." With the last of her strength, Taylor leaned up and whispered in Matthew's ear, "I love you." With those final words, Matthew felt her body go limp and saw the life in her eyes fade. He couldn't hold back the tears any more.

Aiden just stood there, watching the two have their moment. He hadn't known the two very long. So why was he feeling so guilty?

***A Few Hours Later***

After Taylor had passed, Matthew removed the pole from her chest and buried her outside the base. Matthew found some flowers inside and placed them around Taylor's grave. He then took a piece of metal and made a tombstone. Matthew sat next to Taylor's grave for a few hours, thinking back on the times they had spent together.

***Flashback***

It was three years before the incident on Hoyt. Matthew and Taylor made a promise to each other at the graduation party. The promise was that they would always stay together. In the one year since they had graduated from the academy, Matthew had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant while Taylor had only reached the rank of Sergeant. The day after receiving their ranks, they were given orders to head to the planet Chimi. Once there, they were supposed to help the local government stop an uprising.

During the three weeks it took to get from HQ on the planet Forensla to Chimi, Matthew and Taylor spent most of their time together. They had become the best of friends.

***In The Training Room***

One morning, Matthew and Taylor were battling it out. Both were wearing their standard black training gear. Taylor was using a sword with a black blade and a crimson hilt. Matthew on the other hand was wielding a pair of black daggers. They had several of their men watching them. To an outsider, it would look like Matthew and Taylor were trying to kill each other with how hard they were fighting. But to all the troops watching, they could tell that they were just having fun from the smiles on their faces.

As Taylor brought her sword down towards Matthew's shoulder, Matthew dodged to the right and gave her two quick cuts on her leg. Taylor immediately lunged backwards allowing her to get a nice slash in on Matthew's arm. Matthew looked at his arm for a moment before smirking. He ran towards Taylor, and in a swift motion, gave her a cut along her side. They continued to battle for another hour before Matthew fell backwards. When he looked up, Taylor had the tip of her blade against his neck. "Heh, I give." Matthew said, smiling. Taylor smiled back and helped him up. She was clearly happy about her win against him.

As they went to exit the training room, Taylor stopped and looked at Matthew. Looking at her, Matthew asked, "What's up?"

"You let me win, didn't you?" she asked with an irked look.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Matthew said as he feigned confusion.

"You did! I knew that win was too good to be true!" Taylor said as she glared at him.

Matthew chuckled before asking, "What gave me away?"

"I heard some of the troops talking about how easily you went down."

"Oh well, I guess I can't deny it then." Matthew said with a chuckle.

"Stop doing that! How am I supposed to get better if you always let me win?!" Taylor asked, clearly irritated.

"Fine, fine, I'll stop letting you win." Matthew said.

Taylor then tripped Matthew. "Ha! I won that time!" she exclaimed.

Matthew looked up at her before saying, "That wasn't fair. I wasn't ready."

"The enemy won't care." Taylor reminded him with a laugh. "Oh well," she said, "I can still kick your ass when it comes to shooting."

"Are you sure about that?" Matthew asked with a cocky look.

Taylor stopped and looked at him. "No! You have not been letting me win at shooting! I am better!" Taylor said furiously.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Matthew said with a snicker before reaching over and squeezing Taylor's side. This elicited a yelp from Taylor as she gave him a dirty look. Matthew couldn't help but chuckle.

***Flashback End***

Those were the days… Matthew thought as he looked at Taylor's grave. He wished he could go back in time so that he could relive those moments. Matthew thought back to their time in the temple, waiting for backup. About all the different conversations they had had over the years. Conversations where they would talk about pretty much anything, it didn't matter what. He thought about the nights when they were on missions and they'd stop and just look up at the stars. He thought about all the time they spent together. How could he not have noticed her feelings? How could he not have noticed how beautiful and amazing she was? How could he not realize the feelings he had for her? He was one of the best and brightest in the military. He had been the reason that they had won so many battles. The reason so many new discoveries had been made. The reason that they were where they were today. Yet he failed to notice the feelings of the person he spent almost every day with. He was such an idiot.

After several hours, Matthew finally left her grave and went back inside the base. Aiden walked up to Taylor's grave. He felt so guilty. He had worked by Craig's side for a while. He should have seen something like this coming. As he looked over her grave, he noticed something over the tombstone that Matthew had made.

Here lies Taylor Summers.

A good soldier.

A better person.

And a best friend.

See you on the other side.

After seeing that, Aiden just broke down into tears. He felt responsible for her death. Unable to hold the tears back, Aiden just sat there crying. But after a while, Aiden managed to pull himself

together. He then went back into the base to find Matthew.

Neither Matthew nor Aiden got much sleep that night. The next day, Matthew and Aiden scoured the base disarming all of the explosives. After that, they spent the next week burying the bodies of the troops from the base. Once they finished, they gathered any remaining supplies they needed and loaded them onto the ship. And after one final recheck to make sure was working properly, they left the planet.

***In Space***

Taylor's death was really hard on Matthew. Not knowing what to do, Matthew and Aiden drifted through space for a little while. After about two weeks of drifting through space, Aiden went and talked to Matthew about how he was feeling. "Matthew." Aiden said. Matthew just looked up at Aiden, gaze empty. It was clear that he didn't feel like talking, so seeing that Matthew wasn't going to say anything, Aiden continued.

"How do you think it would make Taylor feel to see you like this?" Aiden asked. Matthew still said nothing.

"I know you blame yourself Matthew." Aiden said. "But it wasn't your fault. It was Craig's."

"I should have been able to do something." Matthew finally said. "But I was too weak. I couldn't save my best friend." As Matthew turned to look at him fully, Aiden could make out the tears running down his face.

"Matthew, there was nothing you could have done." Aiden said with a sad look on his face. "I should have known about those explosives. If I had thought about it, she might still be alive."

Matthew put his hand on Aiden's shoulder before saying, "I don't blame you. You were wounded." Matthew continued on by saying, "If I had been in your shoes, I wouldn't have thought about it either."

"Taylor wouldn't have wanted you to mope around." Aiden said with a small smile. "She would want you to go make new friends and have amazing adventures."

Matthew looked up at Aiden with a small smile before saying, "Well then I guess I don't have a choice." Matthew stood up and went to the controls. "So Aiden," Matthew said as he looked over his shoulder, "You want to go on an adventure?"

***Forensla***

Matthew and Aiden finally reached the outskirts of Forensla. As they got closer to the planet, they could start to see the lights of the major cities. It was so beautiful. Once they were in range, Matthew contacted HQ to request permission to land at the orbital docking station. As Matthew mentioned it, Aiden noticed the station ahead of them. The station was light gray and had a hexical shape to it. There were several docking platforms around it. There were several ships of different sizes docked at the station. Some platforms had large bulky looking ships that looked to be used for battle, while other platforms had smaller, sleeker looking ships that looked to be used for scouting. Underneath the station, Aiden could see what looked to be a sky elevator connecting the station to HQ on the ground.

After receiving permission to dock, Matthew docked the ship and lead Aiden to the space elevator. On the way, Aiden noticed all the different people on the station. He was surprised at how few guards there were on board and asked Matthew about it. Matthew told him that since Forensla was the home of the Corven military HQ, no one would dare attack it, which is why there were so few guards. Man… Aiden thought, a lot has changed since I've been gone.

Once they reached the surface, Matthew and Aiden were greeted by two guards. The guards informed Matthew that he and Taylor were to report to General Hoff's quarters for debriefing. With a frown, Matthew then explained that Taylor wasn't with him and said he was going to bring Aiden. As they reached the general's quarters, they went in. In front of them was a older gentleman in a blue officer's uniform. The uniform was decorated with metals. The man had one pale blue eye while the other was missing. His hair was brown with streaks of gray in it. His face was decorated with scars from his time in the military.

Once Matthew and Aiden were in the room, they saluted the man who then waved for them to sit down. The general was confused to see that Taylor was not there. The general looked at Matthew and asked to be briefed on what happened on Hoyt. Once Matthew gave his report, the general was shocked. Hoff had been one of the people that trained Matthew and Taylor's group while they were at the academy. He had helped them further their training after the academy and had grown close to both of them.

"Matthew, I'm sorry for your loss." Hoff said with a sad look on his face. "I know how close you two were."

"Thank you," Matthew said. "I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to the fact that she's gone."

Hoff nodded his head sympathetically, giving Matthew one last sad glance before turning to Aiden. "Now on to you"

"Wait, Sir, let me explain." Matthew said, jumping up out of his chair. "Aiden isn't a bad guy. I know he went rogue but-" Matthew was cut off by Hoff laughing.

"So, I take it that you don't know the actual story then?" he asked Matthew.

"Actual story? What are you talking about?" Matthew asked in confusion, glancing at Aiden out of the corner of his eye.

"Aiden here never went rogue." Hoff said with a grin as he looked at Matthew.

"W-what?" Matthew asked.

"We knew about Craig and needed an inside man." Hoff explained. "So after looking over a list of possible candidates, we chose Aiden here to infiltrate Craig's organization."

"Originally we were just going to tell everyone, but after I brought up the fact that Craig might have spies within the Corven military, we created the story about me going rogue." Aiden explained.

"That... would make sense." Matthew with a slight nod, although he was still shocked at the news.

"Well turns out we were right." Aiden said as he looked at Matthew and Hoff. "The reason Craig allowed me in is because he had heard I had went rogue."

"Well then, Aiden, what do you want to do?" Hoff asked.

"Since we can't be sure that none of Craig's men escaped, there's a chance his organization knows of my betrayal." Aiden said.

"I see." Hoff said as he rubbed his chin. "Well then I guess we'll have to reinstate you and have you return to your original position."

"Actually Sir," Matthew said, "I was hoping to have Aiden join my new team."

Hoff looked at Matthew a moment before saying, "Well that's up to Aiden."

Aiden looked at Matthew before saying, "Why not?"

"Alright then." Hoff said. "I'm reinstating you as a Major." Aiden nodded.

"Oh, by the way Matthew." Aiden said while looking at Matthew, "What's the name of this new team?" Hoff looked to Matthew, also curious as to what the name would be.

"I don't know yet." Matthew said before turning to head off the the infirmary. "Come on Aiden. We need to get your wounds looked at."

As Matthew and Aiden headed to the infirmary, Matthew felt an odd sensation coming from the mark on his chest.