Dinner wasn't very interesting. The menu didn't change (it never did). A few tuna sandwiches. Pizza. Mac and Cheese. Y'know, all those frozen foods that only needed to be microwaved to be eaten? Those kind of stuff. It wasn't all that appetizing. But it was food, so I wouldn't refuse.

As we headed over to the table with our trays, Rowdy greeted us on the way, also carrying a tray of his own. "Why, there's the little lost lamb. Where were you last time?"

Cipher blushed a bit at that. "I was…umm…looking around the base," he said, not sounding truly convincing. "Maybe I can find some secret stashes."

"Tell me if you find any," Rowdy laughed. "Although, if you find any that belongs to Tiger Squad, please, for the sake of your life, don't take it." I could relate to that. Malkin was scary when he was angry. Ovechkin, too, for that matter. Maybe it was just a Yuktobanian thing.

"Ya betcha," Cipher said, grinning. But then, he frowned. "But how do I know if it's Tiger Squad's?"

Rowdy paused, looking a bit thoughtful. That was a really good question, though. It wasn't like anyone would mark their stash around here. So far, I hadn't found any, so I had no idea if that was actually the case.

"You'll have an angry Yuktobanian coming after you," Rowdy said after a while. He laughed. "So I think it's better not to take any stash at all."

"I thought it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?"

"That rule doesn't apply to Yukes. And I value my life. If you and your psycho nature can't deal with that, don't take anyone down with you."

Cipher actually gaped when Rowdy said that, and I just laughed at his expression. "You really think I'm suicidal?" Cipher asked. If you ask me, I say he didn't look like he really wanted to know.

Rowdy snorted. "Everyone knows that. Who the fuck in their right mind would try to handle a patrol flight of Belkans all on their own?"

"Your flight was too slow," Cipher retorted. "I would've died if I waited for help."

"Then use that fancy training of yours. Evade like hell. Not plunge head in into the fray. Showoff." Even as he said this, Rowdy was grinning. He still was grinning when we all walked to our table.

"Hey, it's the new guy!" Lance greeted us when we sat down. "And the worst wingman ever."

I groaned. "Won't you lay off of it for one day, guys?"

"Nope," Rowdy nodded seriously. He had this glint in his eye which I DID NOT like in any way. Usually it meant bad things were coming your way. "We like giving you hell. So far, you haven't given us enough reason not to do so."

"We won't let this one go," Scarlet chimed in, grinning like a goddamn cheshire cat.

"Never ever."

Robin looked at all his squadmates, glaring murderously at them. I shuddered, even though he wasn't aiming it at me. Seriously. That guy could be scarier than a Yuke when he wanted to be. "Guys. I'll say it, and I won't say it again. Lay off of Pixy. I mean it. Understand?" Although he didn't outright say "Do otherwise and I'll get your hides," the threat wasn't lost on all of us.

Lance looked crestfallen. "Aye-aye, Cap."

"Yes, Cap," Scarlet said, meticulously studying the plate of Mac and Cheese in front of her.

"Crystal clear," Rowdy said, not quite hiding his pout. I would've laughed at his childishness, but at that exact second, someone walked close to our table. I didn't really know what happened. But the next thing I knew, I had a plate of tuna sandwich thrown to my face, and the guy was lying face-down on the floor.

It took me less than a second to realize that the guy had tripped and the tuna sandwich in his hand had decided to use my face as target practice.

What is it with me and Lady Luck these days?

To my right, I heard someone giggling.

It was Scarlet.

"You think this is funny?" I asked her. I tried to keep looking serious, but still, I found myself grinning.

Scarlet nodded. "Yes."

I grinned more and more as I grabbed for a tuna sandwich in Cipher's plate. "Then this must be funny as well."

I was already about to throw the food at her in retaliation when suddenly…

"What's going on here?"

I froze. Then, very slowly, I turned to the doorway. Right there, stood Alexander Ovechkin. The freaking Base Commander.

Cipher laughed quietly beside me. I would've smacked him for that (the traitor) if I didn't have the undivided attention of a Base Commander aimed at me. "Uhh… Commander," I said. For the first time since I got to the base, I felt nervous.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, Commander," I said brusquely. "Not at all."

Ovechkin nodded, seemingly satisfied at my reply. "So why don't you go change? You look like an 11-year-old after a food fight."

Trying my best to ignore Cipher (who was desperately trying to keep himself from laughing outright), I nodded at Ovechkin and headed straight for the showers.

Damn my luck.

_X_

"Hey, Larry!"

Turning around, I saw Sebastian, waving at me from where he was perched on the rocks. I grinned, running towards him. "What is it, Seb?"

He pointed towards the valley below us. I looked. It was amazing. The sheer drop from the edge of the cliff to the shallow river below us was breathtaking. I felt like I could just fall down and spread my wings and fly.

Not that I'd do that, though. I'm smart enough to know I'd be dead if I ever tried that.

"It's beautiful, Seb," I commented instead. I pulled out my camera, taking a picture of the entire thing. It was too good to miss. "Maybe I'll win something with this. This is so good."

Seb grabbed towards the camera, obviously wanting to take a look at the picture. "Lemme see! Lemme see!"

I pulled the camera away from him, using my other hand to hold him back. "Come and get it!"

Seb flailed his arm, trying (and failing) to get at me. "I'll get it, Larry! I'll get-

*CRASH*

I woke up, not exactly knowing what caused me to wake up. It wasn't a bad dream. And I knew for sure that I didn't have to go to a briefing in… what? 2 a.m.?

It was quite a while before I heard the sound of someone tossing and turning, the kind you get when you're thrashing about in your sleep.

Cipher.

I peeked over my bed. And sure enough, I saw Cipher on the bunk underneath mine. As I suspected, he was restless, struggling against something invisible. "Cipher," I whispered. No response. His movements was more erratic now, and I winced when his foot struck one of the bedposts. That must hurt.

Another kick at the post. "Cipher!" I said again, louder this time. "It's just a dream. Wake up!" Cipher stilled for a moment. I tensed, hoping that it was over. When a few seconds had passed and nothing else happened, I relaxed and laid back down on my bed. Maybe I could still get a few more hours of sleep.

What do those Oseans usually say? Oh, yeah. Don't ask, don't tell.

_X_

When I woke up a few hours later (around 7, I think), Cipher's bed was empty. It wasn't that surprising. The man probably wanted a walk or something. Walks usually help me when I have nightmares.

Jumping down from the top bunk, I grabbed my coat and walked out. The air was a bit warmer than yesterday. Maybe we would have a sunny day at last, though I doubted that. Ustio wasn't exactly known for white-sand beaches and tropical setting after all. As far as I could tell it was snow, snow, snow all day.

Just like Belka.

And Nostrand.

I stopped, suddenly remembering something. I probably wasn't too familiar with Nostrand, but I did remember learning about the country as a kid. You know, the teachers at school thought it was a really good idea to force the students to memorize every single country that bordered yours and to learn everything you could know about it. Naturally, I had to learn it. The one thing I really remembered until I was grown-up was the flags of those countries. Nostrand's was one of my favourites. It was all blue and white with an insignia on the middle…

Oh, shit.

It wasn't long before I reached the base's Database Room. It was even less time before I asked one of the database technicians to pull up the files they have about Nostrand.

"Nostrand?" the woman had looked at me, clearly surprised. "Why would you open the file for that?"

I smiled at her. "Nothing much. I got some hunch, and I just wanna see if I'm right."

"All right, then." She still seemed hesitant, but at least she was already giving me the folder. And damn, that folder is really thick! Most of them is probably about the invasion. "Don't lose it, and don't forget to return it. I'd hate to print it again."

I nodded my thanks, and was gone in seconds. Once outside, I opened the damned folder. And there it was, right in the front page, printed in full color for the whole world to see.

The flag of Nostrand…

It was just as I remembered. Blue background. White triangle at the center, with a fleur-de-lis at the middle of said white triangle. I mentally compared it to the wings of Cipher's Eagle. It was a perfect match as far as I was concerned.

_X_

When I finally met Cipher at around noon, he was joking around with the rest of the Halo Squadron in the mess.

"Pixy!" Robin shouted the moment he saw me as I walked in. "We're having a game of UNO! Care to join us?"

Rowdy, who was sitting on Robin's right, placed a card on an ever growing pile of cards at the center of the table. I noticed that it was black with…4 different-colored bars in the middle? And a +4? What the heck is this game? "Don't fall for it, Pixy," he said with a grin. "He just wanted you to join so he won't be the only loser in this group."

Robin glared at him. "That's bullshit. I need another grown-up to help me watch the four of you. 'Tis too great a task for a man!"

"It's your turn," Lance pointed out, poking Robin's arm. "And stop that posh language!"

Robin looked at the pile of cards. As soon as he did, though, he groaned in annoyance.

"Why?" I looked again at the card. I had no idea what it meant, and why it would cause Robin to look like he was dying. "What does it mean?"

"Don't tell me you never played UNO?" Cipher asked. He was looking at me, downright surprised.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Should I have? And what does that card mean? Gil looks like he's dying right now."

"It means I should take four new cards," he said, at the same time drawing four cards from a different pile. I noticed that the pile was a lot shorter than the previous one, and that Robin had a lot of cards in his hands. "Which, of course, means I have four more cards between me and the finish line."

Scarlet laughed, placing a card on the pile. "Stop using your attack cards early, moron!"

"Watch who you're calling a moron, Scarlet," Robin warned. If looks could kill, Robin's would do the job well and more than that. "I'm still you're flight leader."

"Doesn't mean they should let you win." Cipher placed a new card on the table. It had two arrows on it. "Your turn again, Scarlet."

Wait, what? I thought Scarlet just made a move. How was it her turn? Shouldn't it be Lance's? "Why does Scarlet get two moves?"

Lance just shot a look at me, clearly unimpressed. "Cipher, from now on, it's your job to educate Pixy on the remarkable game of UNO. The Neanderthal's obviously lived under a rock this whole stinking time."

Cipher's "gotcha" was inevitably drowned out by me protesting. "We're the same species," I reasoned. "Some Sentient-thingamajig."

Scarlet placed another card at the table. "Homo Sapiens."

"Yeah, that." I sat down on the vacant spot between Robin and Rowdy. "And this is a weird game. Try poker. It's better."

Rowdy laughed outright at that one. "Poker's for gramps, Pix. I expect this from Robin, not you."

The only response from the Halo flight leader was a middle finger.

_X_

Halfway through watching the guys play UNO the second time, I still don't see why it's a fun game. I mean, the rules are crazy! Well, it is different, and it is interesting. But still, anyone who've shuffled the deck prior to the game can rig the cards so that they'll get the good ones. For example, any one of the cards that doesn't have a number. And all of them with the plus signs.

Proof? Rowdy had shuffled this deck, and he got the +4 card and so much more attack cards. I could see it clear as day; I was sitting behind him.

"Hello, fellas."

I turned to see who was talking, and I grimaced. I didn't recognize them, but the bright green insignia on their flight suits clued me in.

One of the green freaks.

"What are you guys doing?" the taller one asked. I took a glance of the name tag and it read "C. Murphy". My guess is he's Chuck, and the other guy's Rip.

"Uhh… We're playing UNO," Lance answered, looking up at the newcomers. He had a funny look on his face. "Um, who are you guys? We've never seen you around."

Chuck grinned. "Oh, I'm Chuck and he's Rip. We're the Green Hornets."

Out of nowhere, Rowdy laughed out loud. I shot a look at him to try and warn him. I've seen mercs like those two, and usually, they never liked anything from other people that isn't respect and obedience. Laughing at them is NOT an action I would ever suggest. "What's so funny?" Rip growled.

"You guys name your team after a comic book character?" Rowdy gasped out, still laughing. I would've kicked his leg if I could, but him being in front of me and me being out from under the table meant that the green freaks would surely see what I did.

Chuck scowled, his arms crossed. "No, we didn't."

Rowdy flashed a grin at the two. He's stopped laughing (finally!) and was definitely getting a kick out of the name. The Green Hornets. "Well sorry, boys, but the name's patented. That's copyrighted material."

"Yeah, right." Chuck rolled his eyes, not caring if Rowdy saw it or not. "That's still our name, and we're still using it."

Lance looked a bit thoughtful. "What if they sued, though?"

"Huh?"

"Lawsuit," Lance clarified. "You do know what they mean, right?"

"Of course we do!" Rip looked downright pissed right now. I was beginning to get worried. Things could get ugly. "What do you take us for? Morons?"

Cipher shot a look at the two pilots, face blank. "The Green Hornets, right?" Chuck nodded. "Then you're in the clear. The comic book character is the Green Hornet."

Lance looked at Cipher, frowning. "But they're the same!"

"Not really," Rowdy said, deciding to help Cipher. I watched the Green Hornets as the conversation go on. They seemed to be a bit calmer now. "One has an s, the other doesn't."

Scarlet laughed. "And one's singular, the other's plural. Where did you learn your grammar, Lance?"

"Shut up," Lance snapped, face red. "Okay, so I was wrong. Sorry. Now let's forget about it, okay?"

Grinning, I decided to jump in. "Aww… who invited the grumpy cat here?"

"More like Red Riding Hood," Robin said, shuffling his cards around. "He's so red right now."

"Fuck you!"

None of us noticed the Green Hornets slipping away until the game finally ended. But hey, it's not like they'll be missed.