A/N The cat's outta the bag, if you hadn't noticed. The third brother, so to speak, has finally be found, and who woulda thought that it was Church…*cough cough obvious plot point because he's the main character *cough. Leave a fav and review
Chapter 11 - Prelude
Liberating Front
Church shut the door to his room and locked it, turning around to look out through the one window it had at the tarmac. His mind was still swimming with all of the new information he had just heard, and it was starting to give him a piercing headache.
"Me…? I...No...it's not true…" he thought as he stood rigid and stared down blankly at the floor.
His mind was in total disarray. He had just learned that his whole life here in Cape Aubrey had actually been a lie. He wasn't born here, he wasn't even a true Aurelian. He had been born a Belkan, and at some point when he was very young he had been taken away from his parents and had his entire past wiped away from his mind, even his name and their identity.
His entire life had not been his own.
Just the thought of it had reduced him to a shell of his former self. His parents, whom he had never known, had no idea where their son had gone or what had become of him. He didn't even know if he had *actual brothers or sisters. He could've had a normal life, he could've something else, he could've been *anyone else.
But no...his life had been predestined from the start when he had been taken from his, no, he wouldn't say it. He wasn't going to believe it. There was no way in hell he would believe it.
He covered his face with his hands and closed his eyes to try to stop the room from spinning so fast and to stop the raging headache that made him want to pass out.
"God...why me…?"
The next day came in the blink of an eye, and Church hadn't even bothered going to sleep. He had sat on his bed in the same position since first walking into his room the day before. As the sun rose into the sky, a few minutes passed of utter silence before a few soft knocks on the door echoed out, his body becoming rigid. "Church, you alright in there?"
He didn't respond. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now. He needed more time to himself.
"Church?" asked Gryphus 6 again out of worry, but after another few moments of silence, she gave up and stepped away from the door.
"Leave him be." She turned around, Talisman walking up to her with his hands in his pockets. "He's gonna need a while to get through this."
"Who are you, his psychologist?" she asked, Talisman chuckling as he pressed his shoulder up against the side of the hallway.
"Not exactly, the name's Talisman. I'm kinda a big deal."
"Talisman? As in the Ace of Aces from Emmeria?!" she stammered, the Emmerian pilot nodding his head.
"Yeah, just don't go blatantly yelling it out. I'd prefer if I don't draw too much attention to myself. And about Church, like I said, he's just gonna need some time to digest some things."
"But we have a mission to do. What are we gonna do without our flight lead?" she asked, Talisman pondering about the situation.
He grinned as he turned around and headed back down the way he came towards the slightly ajar door at the end of the hallway, Gryphus 6 watching in confusement before she followed after him.
"How about I lead the Gryphus Squadron for you guys?" he asked.
"What? But you're an Emmerian pilot! If Leasath catches wind of an Emmerian leading an Aurelian fighter squadron during a war against them, they'll declare war on you too!" she exclaimed, Talisman's smile growing into a mischievous smile as he motioned with his thumb over towards Church's F-22A sitting idle in one of the hangars once they had left the barracks.
"They won't, because I'll be flying in his aircraft." he said, Gryphus 6 blinking a few times.
"But…"
"Listen, I got a guy, a good friend of mine, that's going to be coming down here in a short while. He's gonna set Church straight and bring him back to his old self, I can assure you. I'll just take his spot for the time being, okay?"
Gryphus 6 looked back over her shoulder at the barracks, her heart telling her one thing while her mind said another, and after a couple of seconds she sighed in defeat and nod her head once. "Fine. But if you're gonna be flying as Church, then you're gonna have to use his callsign and respond to his name just as if you were him, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am." said Talisman with a small salute and a goofy grin, Gryphus 6 scowling at his somewhat childish personality.
"For the Ace of Aces, this guy seems more like a rookie than one of the greatest aces to ever fly the skies."
With their plan set, the two travelled to the briefing room and met up with Gryphus 5, whom they told of what Talisman was going to do. Eugene entered the room and after recovering from the initial shock of seeing Talisman in his flight suit sitting in the chair Church would normally be at, he cleared his throat and turned on the briefing system.
"The battle to retake Port Patterson is about to begin. Our scattered forces have come together for this battle. They may be few in number, but we've managed to assemble a ground force, which is a success in its own." he began, the briefing system projecting a pixilated version of Port Patterson and the surrounding landscape in the airspace.
Gryphus 5 and 6 made a quick glance at Talisman and just from his facial expression alone they could tell his mind was racing at over a hundred miles per hour, taking in the images and layout of the enemy forces and already making battle plans and back-up contingency plans in case the main one failed. Church was a good pilot, but this man, no, this Ace...he was in a completely different league compared to him.
"However, the Leasath fleet continues to gather in Port Patterson, and the presence of the transportation corps has also been confirmed. Having lost Puna Base, it appears Leasath now intends to shuttle in troops and supplies over sea. If any more ships dock at the port, enemy strength will become more then our ground troops can handle."
"Not if I have anything to say about that." thought Talisman with an evil grin.
"In order to prevent this we need you to launch a preliminary strike on Port Patterson. Destroy all enemy supply vessels, landing ships, and freighters. In particular, try to keep as many enemy landing ships from entering the port as possible. Battle supplies must not reach the enemy. Also be wary of a substantial enemy counterattack. It seems the loss of Puna Base has put them on guard. Be careful."
With that, Talisman quickly got up from his seat and left the briefing room with a few strides, Gryphus 5 and 6 having to jog to catch up to him.
"I know I may not be Church, and I know he may have a different style of ordering his wingmen, but I hope we'll be able to effectively be able to act as an air squadron." said Talisman over his shoulder before he quickly moved away towards Church's jet, Nicolai and Marcus standing right beside it.
"Try not to stand out too much, okay?" said Nicolai with a smug grin as Talisman set his foot on the first rung of the ladder leading up to the cockpit, a nasal snort being his response.
"Yeah yeah, I got you. When is he gonna get here?"
"He'll be here by the end of the day. He's taking a taxi." said Marcus.
"A taxi?" asked Talisman in slight confusion. "Please explain."
"You'll find out later. Right now, you need to get to a mission Gryphus 1." said Nicolai, Talisman rolling his eyes before he climbed up and plopped down into the Raptor's cockpit.
The canopy closed with a hiss and he powered on the engines, Nicolai and Marcus stepping back so he could maneuver the aircraft out of the hangar and move out towards the runway.
When the other Gryphus members pulled out behind him, he shot off down the runway and took to the skies, turning into a slow wide turn so as to wait for them to take off. Once the squadron had finally rejoined Talisman took the lead and set his course for Port Patterson to the south, his mind set on totally obliterating everything in his way.
- Port Patterson, Aurelia -
- May 11th, 2020 1200 hrs -
When noon finally came around, Talisman and the two members of Gryphus squadron acting under his command since Church was out of commision entered into the airspace and spotted the city in the distance.
"Crux to Gryphus...1." said Eugene awkwardly, still concerned over the fact that Talisman was pretending to be Church and that if anyone found out he was Emmerian, a whole can of worms would erupt that could make the war take a turn for the worse.
"Be sure to destroy any landing craft that attempts to enter the port."
"Roger that AWACS, you can count on me. You guys ready to party?" asked Talisman with a glance back at Gryphus 5 and 6.
"Yeah. Let's go take our port back."
"That's the spirit!" exclaimed Talisman happily as he did a barrel roll.
When they got closer to the port their presence was detected by their allied ground forces stationed around the city's outskirts, and judging by the tone of the commanding officer in charge of them they had been waiting for them to appear.
"So you're Gryphus 1, huh? I'm Major Bergman, ground force commander. Once you begin your attack on the enemy fleet we'll push into the city."
"Roger that Major, we'll take care of those landing ships for you." replied Talisman casually, his eyes darting to a small squadron of CH-47s flying over the city.
Without warning he split off from Gryphus 5 and 6 and shot down the helicopters so quickly they didn't even have any idea as to who had attacked them. Gryphus 5 and 6 attempted to catch up to him, the the Emmerian ace was already gone, heading towards the port itself with the Raptor's GPUs already locked in and ready to be dropped. They had heard about his skills from the news back when the Anean Continental War was raging between Emmeria and Estovakia, but now they had a front row seat to watch the Ace of Aces in action.
To say the least...it was awe inspiring.
"Enemy air forces detected on radar! They're going after the ships! Don't let them get sunk!"
"Too late for that." thought Talisman with a smirk as he locked on to a docked cruiser and dropped two GPUs, one smashing through one of its turrets and igniting its ammunition rack and another striking the bridge.
The entire ship went up in flames and blew back the Leasath troops standing near the dock with a devastating shockwave produced by the detonation, the plume of smoke that rose up afterwards marking the beginning of the attack on Port Patterson.
Talisman moved on to the next group of targets, a contingent of AA gun units, and easily dispatched them with some well placed missiles and streaks of gunfire. "Gryphus 5 and 6, split off and take out any enemy forces on the other side of the port. I'll handle this side and prevent any landing ships from docking."
"Roger Gryphus 1." replied Gryphus 5 as he banked right with Gryphus 6, away from Talisman and the main Leasath fleet.
"Our ships are just sitting ducks out there in the docks!" shouted a Leasath officer who had witnessed the destruction of the docile cruiser, but the troops were helpless to prevent their other naval vessels from getting struck by Talisman.
The Emmerian Ace of Aces was too quick for the Leasath forces to react, and one by one in quick succession their naval fleet stationed in the port was drastically crippled. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted the main fleet still sitting outside the port begin to move in with their landing ships in an attempt regain control of the port, because while he had been busy with the ships their ground forces had begun to push back Leasath's troops out of the city.
"Not on my watch!" he growled as he turned back and targeted the lead transport ships attempting to make it into the port.
He let loose a pair of missiles, one striking the bridge and another hitting it in the hull, and almost immediately the ship began to list to one side as water rushed in through the hull breach on its side. The other landing ships behind it started to make wide turns to attempt to get around their sinking group leader, but Talisman had already reloaded by than and a few seconds later the three ships were in flames.
"Who keeps sinking our ships?! It can't be just because of one fighter jet that we can't even set foot in the port!" growled the Leasath captain in charge of the fleet detachment.
"But it is sir! There's a lone Aurelian Raptor that's preventing our landing craft from unloading reinforcements!"
"A lone Raptor? It can't be...Nemesis?!" he sputtered, Talisman cocking up an eyebrow in confusion before he realized that the nickname bust belong to Church.
"Nemesis, eh? Not bad Church, not bad." he thought with a grin as he dove back down at the fleet, a swarm of AA rounds flying up to meet him.
"It's the Southern Cross! How the hell are we supposed to win against him?!"
"All fighters in the air, shoot down that damned pilot!"
Talisman's missile warning sirens began to blare in his ears and he looked back to see several Leasath SU-35s beginning to get on his tail and shoot him down. They were brave, he would give them that, but he could easily read them like a book and as soon as they got close, he turned the tables on the enemy pilots. He pulled the F-22A's nose up and stalled the engines slightly, his entire world flipping upside down and giving him and perfect view of the five planes behind him.
He pushed the thrust all the way forward and zoomed right at them, letting loose missiles as he did. The pilots that managed to dodge the attack sped past him while the ones who took a missile right to the face exploded and dropped out of the sky trailing smoke and fire.
"Come 'ere!" said Talisman as he gave chase after the surviving pilots, shooting them down one by one until the skies were clear of any enemy presence.
"What's the status over there guys?" he asked of his wingmen, Gryphus 6 being the one to respond after she had destroyed a group of SAM systems.
"We're just cleaning house over here. Seeing as how you've pretty much terrified the forces stationed here, I highly doubt they'll try to invade with you around."
Talisman nodded and he returned back to the airspace directly over the port, and just like how she had predicted, once his presence was identified on radar the Leasath fleet pulled back away from the port and allowed the Aurelian's to retake it, the remaining Leasath ground forces still in the city surrendering when they realized they couldn't win with the odds stacked against them.
"Port Patterson has been retaken. Mission accomplished, return to base." said Eugene in satisfaction, Talisman letting out a sigh as he leaned back in his flight seat.
"So guys, how did I do? Did I get the part?" he asked jokingly after he joined up with Gryphus 5 and 6.
"Well, the voice acting could've been a bit better…" stated Gryphus 5 while stifling his own laughter, Talisman rolling his eyes.
"Oh shut up. Let's get outta here." he said, the two Aurelians sharing a laugh as they set course back to Cape Aubrey.
-We've succeeded in destroying the enemy fleet gathered in Port Patterson. Thanks to the chaos you created, our ground troops scored a major victory by retaking the port and securing it, returning it back to Aurelian control. We couldn't have done it without your assistance, sir.
- Aubrey Air Force Base -
- May 11th, 2020 1820 hrs -
Talisman was in the middle of telling some of his war stories back from the Anean Continental War to the base crew, Marcus and Nicolai sitting close by with smiles on their faces. Currently he was on the part where he and the rest of his friends back in Emmeria had to defend the P-1112 Aigaion, which had decided to defect from the Estovakian military when all of sudden the roar of jet engines passed by overhead.
The base personnel payed no attention to it at first before Talisman smirked and looked up to the sky, catching a glimpse of blue and grey for a fraction of a second.
"Heh, he's finally here." he said as he pushed himself up and straightened his uniform.
"Who, sir?" asked one of the mechanics, Talisman glancing back and winking.
"You'll find out here in a quick second." he replied before leaving the hangar with Nicolai and Marcus and walking out onto the runway.
He looked out at the glittering ocean and he grinned when he saw an easily recognizable shape sitting just outside the city.
"Now I know what you meant by "taxi", Marcus." he said over his shoulder, said "taxi" he was talking about being the pride of the Osean Maritime Defense Force and the flagship of the Combined 3rd Fleet, the O.F.S Kestrel II.
The original Kestrel had been a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier built by the Osean Federation that made its trial run in the Belkan War, during Offensive Campaign No. 4101 where the vessel had led an Allied fleet through the Futuro Canal. It's name however was truly cemented in history when it became the home of the Razgriz Air Command Squadron and acted as the temporary home for the President of Osea after he was rescued.
It's life came to an end however when it was sunk by several submarine launched cruise missiles after the vessel and its battle group consisting of both Osean and friendly Yuktobanian had fought against hostile fleets from both nations. To honor the vessel, the next class of carrier that would be built by Osea would be named the Kestrel-class, and that the first ship of its class would be given the name "Kestrel II".
"Of course he would come here on the Kestrel II." said Nicolai with a smirk before the jet Talisman had seen made another pass over the base, this time allowing the ground crew to get a better look at it.
Just from the paint job alone they instantly knew who was piloting the aircraft.
"No way!" one shouted in disbelief when the aircraft made a wide turn and slowed its airspeed down, its landing gear getting lowered down as the pilot committed it to landing at the base.
Everyone beside Talisman, Marcus and Nicolai watched in utter shock as the F-15C with blue wing markings on its wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizers came to a stop on the runway, the series of lights built into the frame where the cockpit should've been flickering off. Two hatches opened up on top and a man popped out of the armored cockpit, a smile plastered on his face as he hopped down onto the tarmac.
He had left his flight helmet in the cockpit and ran a hair through his hair,glancing around at all the surprised faces staring at him and chuckling. He walked over to Talisman and company and shook hands with him, saying "I didn't know there would be a welcoming party."
"Heh, yeah, I know. How's it been Cipher?" asked Talisman with a grin, the former Ace of Aces sighing as he looked back towards the Kestrel II.
"Fine, fine. Jasper's doing great, said he's going to become a pilot like me."
"Did he come with you?" asked Nicolai, Cipher nodding.
"He's back on the Kestrel II playing football with some of the other naval pilots. They're a good bunch, so I know they'd take care of him. Especially since he's the son of the world's most famous fighter pilot."
He looked away from the carrier and examined the air base, going from one building to the other before his smile faded away and he returned to Talisman. "Where is he?"
"He's in the barracks that direction." said Marcus, pointing a finger over Cipher's shoulder towards a group of buildings on the other side of the runway.
"Right." replied Cipher as he briskly turned around and tucked his hands in his pockets. "Give me a couple of minutes."
The barracks had been totally silent for the entire day, not a soul wanting to walk down the hallway that connected to the room belonging to Church. He himself had been locked in there since yesterday, his eyes baggy and deprived of sleep while his body was saggy and lacked life in it.
All of a sudden a series of knocks resonated out from his door, and he opened his tired eyes. He remained silent and hoped that whoever was on the other side of the door would go away.
"Church, I know you're in there. I'm not leaving until you walk out of there with me." said a voice belonging to the person just outside, Church moaning in despair.
"Go away…" he muttered just loud enough for the person to hear him.
"Yeah, uh, no. Talisman told me what he talked to you about." said the voice again, Church's eyes fully opening and his heart skipping a beat.
"*Not this again." he thought as he buried his face in his hands.
"Just get out of here, okay? I don't care who you are, and I'm not gonna listen to more of that bullshit!" he yelled out, the voice from the other side growing quite for a few seconds and making him think that it had given up.
"Not even if I was the Demon Lord?" asked the voice, Church stiffening up and raising his head out of his hands in shock.
He looked back at the door and blinked, unsure if what he had heard was real or not. "E-Excuse me?"
"Or should I go by Mobius 1? Maybe Razgriz 1?" asked the voice somewhat playfully, Church immediately standing up and striding over to his door to unlock it.
He flung it open and stood face to face with a man seemingly his age with short, shaggy brown hair and differently colored eyes, one red and another green. He was wearing a dark grey flight suit with a patch of the Republic of Ustio on one shoulder and a red number, 032, directly underneath it.
"Hiya. So you're Church, right?" asked the man, Church blinking and rubbing his eyes to make sure it wasn't an illusion.
"And you…"
"Yeah, I'm the former Ace of Aces. The name's Aleksandar Costner, but you can call me Cipher or Alek, either one works." replied Cipher with a grin, Church still in disbelief. "Could I come in?"
Church shook himself out of his stupor and he stepped out of the way, allowing Cipher to walk into the room and take a seat on the couch sitting across from the bed.
Church closed the door behind him and sat back down on his bed again, looking at Cipher in silence as he made himself at home on the couch by leaning back and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Heh, it feels just like yesterday when I was sitting in a room just like this at Sand Island, listening to Puddle of Mudd with one of my old wingmen…" he said aloud, Church remaining silent in the presence of the legend.
Cipher noticed the awkward silence and he closed his eyes, whistling a few notes from a song he had heard recently. "So I hear you had quite a shock the day before, huh?"
Church was taken aback by the question, Cipher opening one eye and looking at him with a slight smile on his face. He nod his head, and Cipher closed the eye again, another few whistled tunes emerging from his lips.
"Yeah, I know what you're feeling right now. Talisman experienced the same thing when I first told him back in 2016. I'm sure he told you that too, right?" asked Cipher, not even having to look to know that Church nod his head up and down.
"Well...where to begin…" Cipher leaned forward and let out a deep sigh as he rested his elbows on his knees, thinking about what to say next to the Aurelian pilot.
"What he says is true." he said, getting to the truth right off the bat. "Your name is Leonard Costner, and you were once a test subject of the now defunct Project ACES."
Church remained silent, and Cipher took it as a chance to continue.
"It's also true that you were brainwashed and had all of your memories of Project ACES wiped away before they sent you and Talisman, excuse me, Ethan, to Aurelia and Emmeria, respectfully. I however was able to escape, which is why I'm still able to remember everything that had transpired. From when I was first brought the the Avalon Dam Facility to when I escaped and became a mercenary pilot."
"B-But...I can't believe that...I don't want to believe it…" muttered Church, and as soon as he lowered his gaze Cipher was off the couch with his hands firmly grasping the cuff of his shirt and his eyes glaring right into his own, a fiery look in them.
"You listen to me, and you listen to me good. *Got it?" he asked, Church quickly nodding his head before Cipher let go of him and crossed his arms, a scowl on his face.
"Enough of this pussy-footing around bullshit, trying to deny the truth when you already know deep down that it's true. Do you know how long I searched for you and Talisman? Go ahead and guess." said Cipher harshly, Church racking his brain for an estimate to try and answer his question to no avail.
Cipher took his silence as his answer and he uncrossed his arms, his hands clenching together tightly. "Just to find Talisman alone, it took me twenty one years. And for him it took another four to find you here."
Church was astonished at the number, but Cipher didn't stop there and pressed forward.
"I've spent nearly half of my adult life trying to find the only family I had left, considering, if you don't remember, I was the very first person kidnapped to be apart of Project ACES and I have no memories of my parents or past life whatsoever." he continued, his tone alone making Church feel like the smallest person in the world.
"You think you have it bad because you're just finding out now? Ha! Try living with the fact that you know that you had your memories wiped, and that no matter how hard you tried, you were never able to discover the identity of your family and that they, right now, have no idea that their son is in fact not dead or missing, but is in fact alive and is trying his very best to find his way back home?!"
At this point Cipher was right in Church's face, their eyes just inches apart from one another. He was left utterly speechless, unable to comprehend how much pain and suffering the pain standing across from him had felt during the course of his lifetime.
"So with that in mind, like I said, I desired to find the only family I had left, the two brothers that were with me in Project ACES. I was able to find one, and never before had I felt happier. Now when he finds the third person who struggled just like we had, and he has the guts to deny the truth…" started Cipher before he saw the fear in Church's eyes and calmed down, his hands unclenching and his body rocking backward as he fell back onto the couch.
"Listen...what you're doing to yourself right now is not a good thing. You have two wingmen, no, and entire nation depending on you to stop the bad guys and free their country from their control. Sitting in your room and wallowing over your past is not the way to do it." he said after taking in a deep breath and letting it out.
Church lowered his gaze and held his hands in his laps, taking what Cipher just said and thinking about it over and over in his head. He was right, there were people who were depending on him right now, and who was he to deny them and sit here in his room in a wreck?
"Believe me when I say I've been where you're at right now. I still hold onto the hope that someday I would be able to find my parents someday, but at the same time I know that this might never happen. So, instead of worrying over it, I decided to move on and create a new life for myself, and look at what that's gotten me today...I'm reknown as the best god damned fighter pilot ace in history." said Cipher with a chuckle, one of his hands unconsciously moving down to his pockets to bring out a picture he always carried with him, a picture of Jasper.
"Hell...I even got married and had a son whom I love more than anything in the world. What I'm trying to say is don't let this bring you down. Let this circumstance instead push you to go to new heights and become someone who can be, not someone who could have. Become the badass fighter pilot who's gonna put a stop to this war and save his country just like his two other brothers." said Cipher with a grin, Church laughing as he looked up at him and opened his eyes.
Without a word he stood up, Cipher doing the same, and shook hands with one another, Church's lips curling up into a warm smile.
"It's good to have you back Leonard."
"Please, just call me Church, Alek."
And with that, they left Church's room and walked back out of the barracks and onto the runway, Talisman spotting them first as they walked over.
"Hell yeah, he did it." he said, Nicolai and Marcus glancing over while Gryphus 5 and 6 stood up at the sight of their flight lead returning to them.
"Hey guys, sorry I kinda blacked out there for a while. I'm back for good though." said Church as he walked up to his wingmen to reassure them. He glanced over his shoulder at Talisman and Cipher, who stood a few feet away with Nicolai and Marcus right behind them.
"Thanks for showing me who I really am." he said, the two brothers saluting him before they walked off with their friends to return to their jets and leave the Aurelians to catch up about the day's prior events.
"Thanks for coming on such short notice Alek, I really appreciate it." said Talisman as he clapped Cipher on the shoulder.
"No problem. I was also able to get a glimpse of the unknown jets you and Marcus quarreled with." replied Cipher, Talisman's smile fading and getting replaced with a slight scowl. "You do know who they could've belonged to, right?"
"Of course I do."
"So you know that at some point we're gonna have to fight *them again, right?"
"Yeah, I know that too. The only question though is when they choose to show themselves to the world."
Cipher nod his head a few times and sighed. "Mhmm...and I have a feeling that with the threat of Odysseus overhead...that time is gonna be soon. And when that time comes, we'll have to be ready."